Cattle traded in a sloppy fashion this week with live cattle posting heavy losses to start the week and end the week but managed to end steady on Tuesday and higher on Wednesday. Feeder cattle lost ground to start and end the week but managed to post solid gains in the middle sessions. But both were posting losses at the end of Thursday’s close.
Cattle started the week on the defense with early selling tied to profit taking after Friday’s good gains. There is still confusion about when the border will open with Mexico. USDA has only said that it won’t be the week of January 20th (which was reported previously). A sharply higher grain complex added pressure. Light selling was also tied to profit taking and technical selling as cattle were trading at all-time contracts highs and overbought. Losses were kept in check by friendly fundamentals.
Tuesday’s session brought in a mixed performance for cattle. Live cattle took the easy road and traded mostly steady to lower while feeder cattle closed either sharply higher or with small gains. Profit taking and technical selling pressured the live cattle early. The lack of a cash trade added pressure. Losses were trimmed by weather forecasts calling for adverse weather as frigid cold temps are forecasted to dip all the way south to TX. This will slow down cattle performance. Feeder cattle were supported by strong cash bids and strong demand. Jan was supported by the need to bring the front month futures contract in line with the cash index, which closed down $1.25 at $277.30, $3.20 above futures. Light support for the feeders came from a sloppy session in the grains.
Buying returned the cattle midweek as both exchanges rallied to close sharply higher. Volatility is alive and well in the cattle markets, which could signal that a top could be coming soon. Live cattle maintained gains throughout the session while feeder cattle traded in a back-and-forth fashion early but then firmed throughout the late half of the session. Strong cash bids and tight supplies continue to push cattle higher. Light support came from this morning’s better than expected CPI estimate. Light support for both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts is due to futures needing to try and catch up to cash. The cash feeder cattle index is at $278.31, $3.09 above the Jan futures.
Selling gripped cattle to close out the week ending Thursday. Cattle opened the session steady to lower and extended session losses throughout the first half of the session. Selling was tied to profit taking and position squaring ahead of the long weekend. Tariff concerns added selling pressure (Mexico and China are large buyers of beef). Technical selling was also evident as cattle traders tried to correct an overbought condition, but that can only go so far since futures are at such a huge discount to the cash market. Cattle trimmed losses late in the session due to tight supplies and strong demand. The cash feeder cattle index dropped 27 cents to $278.04.
For the week, Feb live cattle were at $196.75 down $2.025. Jan feeder cattle were at $273.50 down $1.05.
Cattle Weekly Comments January 17
Cattle Weekly Comments January 17
Cattle traded in a sloppy fashion this week with live cattle posting heavy losses to start the week and end the week but managed to end steady on Tuesday and higher on Wednesday. Feeder cattle lost ground to start and end the week but managed to post solid gains in the middle sessions. But both were posting losses at the end of Thursday’s close.
Cattle started the week on the defense with early selling tied to profit taking after Friday’s good gains. There is still confusion about when the border will open with Mexico. USDA has only said that it won’t be the week of January 20th (which was reported previously). A sharply higher grain complex added pressure. Light selling was also tied to profit taking and technical selling as cattle were trading at all-time contracts highs and overbought. Losses were kept in check by friendly fundamentals.
Tuesday’s session brought in a mixed performance for cattle. Live cattle took the easy road and traded mostly steady to lower while feeder cattle closed either sharply higher or with small gains. Profit taking and technical selling pressured the live cattle early. The lack of a cash trade added pressure. Losses were trimmed by weather forecasts calling for adverse weather as frigid cold temps are forecasted to dip all the way south to TX. This will slow down cattle performance. Feeder cattle were supported by strong cash bids and strong demand. Jan was supported by the need to bring the front month futures contract in line with the cash index, which closed down $1.25 at $277.30, $3.20 above futures. Light support for the feeders came from a sloppy session in the grains.
Buying returned the cattle midweek as both exchanges rallied to close sharply higher. Volatility is alive and well in the cattle markets, which could signal that a top could be coming soon. Live cattle maintained gains throughout the session while feeder cattle traded in a back-and-forth fashion early but then firmed throughout the late half of the session. Strong cash bids and tight supplies continue to push cattle higher. Light support came from this morning’s better than expected CPI estimate. Light support for both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts is due to futures needing to try and catch up to cash. The cash feeder cattle index is at $278.31, $3.09 above the Jan futures.
Selling gripped cattle to close out the week ending Thursday. Cattle opened the session steady to lower and extended session losses throughout the first half of the session. Selling was tied to profit taking and position squaring ahead of the long weekend. Tariff concerns added selling pressure (Mexico and China are large buyers of beef). Technical selling was also evident as cattle traders tried to correct an overbought condition, but that can only go so far since futures are at such a huge discount to the cash market. Cattle trimmed losses late in the session due to tight supplies and strong demand. The cash feeder cattle index dropped 27 cents to $278.04.
For the week, Feb live cattle were at $196.75 down $2.025. Jan feeder cattle were at $273.50 down $1.05.