Cattle Slip Back on Thursday

Live cattle futures were a nickel to $1.85 lower in the front months on Thursday. Early cash trade has been reported at $348-355 dressed in the North, with $222-223 live sales. The Thursday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,696 head offered with a single bid reported at $220. Feeder cattle futures saw a $1.10 gain in September on expiration day, with other contracts down 60 cents to $1.57. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 9 cents on September 23 to $337.07.

USDA Export Sales data showed 9,397 MT of beef sold in the week ending on 9/17 for 2026 and sales of 60 MT for 2027. Shipments were 12,099 MT in that week, a 5-week high.

Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower in the Thursday PM report, with the Chc/Sel at $24.02. Choice boxes were down $1.19 at $376.12, with Select 24 cents lower to $352.10. USDA estimated Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Thursday at 90,000 head and taking the week to date total at 389,000 head. That is 31,000 head below last week and 77,607 head below the same week last year.

Oct 26 Live Cattle  closed at $219.075, down $1.850,

Dec 26 Live Cattle  closed at $221.100, down $1.250,

Feb 27 Live Cattle  closed at $222.875, down $0.775,

Sep 26 Feeder Cattle  closed at $337.625, up $1.100,

Oct 26 Feeder Cattle  closed at $331.750, down $1.575,

Nov 26 Feeder Cattle  closed at $328.075, down $1.425,

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.