Weekly Cattle Summary: Cattle Up, Corn Down and the USDA Freezes Reports
US – Markets followers are having to rely on feed, futures and live auction values as a market assessment since the discontinuation of government market reports.
7 October 2013
1 minute read
Ron Plain
Sales and slaughter figures for the US beef industry have been unavailable since the US Department of Agriculture shut down on October 1, according to US analysts Ron Plain and Scot Brown, University of Missouri.
Missouri feeder cattle auction price averages this week for medium and large frame #1 steers were 400-500# $187.82, 500-600# $173.64, 600-700# $167.38, 700-800# $163.38, and 800-900# $157.17/cwt. Medium and large frame #1 heifer price averages in Missouri were 400-500# $166.08, 500-600# $159.53, 600-700# $155.06, 700-800# $149.99, and 800-900# $144.69/cwt.
The October live cattle futures contract closed at $128.05/cwt today, down 20 cents from last week's close. December fed cattle settled at $132.42, up 35 cents for the week. February cattle close at $134.30/cwt and April at $135.45/cwt.
The October feeder cattle futures contract ended the week at $164.45/cwt, up 33 cents from the previous Friday. November feeder cattle settled at $165.95, up $1.00 for the week. The January feeder contract ended the week at $165.95/cwt, the same as the November contract.
The December corn futures contract ended the week at $4.43/bushel, down 11 cents for the week. February corn settled at $4.56/bu also down 11 cents from the previous Friday.
The October soybean meal contract ended the week at $431.30 per ton, up 11.40 from the previous Friday. December meal settled at $418.40, up 10 cents for the week.
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