Although it was mostly a quiet day, the livestock complex did close higher Tuesday afternoon. Still no cash cattle trade has developed and both bids and asking prices remain elusive at this point.
LIVE CATTLE:
Although the live cattle complex mildly rebounded throughout Tuesday’s trade, all in all, it was a quiet day for the market, with little else having developed throughout the day’s trade. June live cattle closed $1.47 higher at $253.22, August live cattle closed $2.17 higher at $248.35 and October live cattle closed $2.77 higher at $243.22. No cash cattle trade developed throughout the day, and it’s most likely that trade will be delayed until Thursday or Friday this week. No bids or asking prices have surfaced at this point. Tuesday’s slaughter is estimated at 104,000 head, 5,000 head less than a week ago and 16,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $0.78 ($392.34) and select up $1.64 ($392.24) with a movement of 109 loads (71.93 loads of choice, 10.16 loads of select, 4.08 loads of trim and 22.41 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY’S CATTLE CALL:
Steady. With packers able to buy a plethora of cattle last week, the best-case scenario for the cash market is likely that prices trade steady this week following last week’s monstrous rally.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex ended the day stronger as well, as the market was encouraged to see the live cattle contracts trending higher, and was no longer up against resistance pressure, so traders felt safer when mildly supporting the contracts. May feeders closed $5.22 higher at $371.82, August feeders closed $5.70 higher at $372.30 and September feeders closed $5.57 higher at $370.37. The CME feeder cattle index 5/4/2026: down $0.21, $375.33.
What are cattle Packer margins currently?