Cattle futures lower ahead of On Feed numbers

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were lower ahead of the USDA’s On Feed numbers, despite sharply higher cash business. April live cattle closed $1.52 lower at $206.85 and June lives closed $2.25 lower at $202.77. April feeder cattle closed $3.47 lower at $284.97 and May feeder cattle closed $4.00 lower at $285.10.

Direct cash cattle trade activity held out until the end of the week, and it was worth it for sellers. Live deals in the South were at $210, $7 higher than the previous week’s weighted averages. Dressed business in Nebraska was marked at $335, $10 higher than the prior week’s weighted average basis. Live deals in the North ranged from $212 to $216, $3 to $6 higher than the prior week’s business.

At the Lamoni Livestock Auction in Iowa, compared to two weeks ago, steers were mostly $10 to $29 higher, with lighter-weight cattle seeing the biggest jump. Heifers were $17 to $29 higher. The USDA says buyers were most interested in lighter cattle ahead of spring. Demand was good, both in-house and online. Supply was moderate. Receipts were down on the week and the year.