Cattle traded in a mixed fashion this week with the deferred cattle contracts seeing gains in half the sessions for the week ending Thursday. The front month Aug contracts expired this week and saw their activity tied to the cash trade.
Cattle started the week off on the defense with early selling tied to Friday’s bearish COF report. The On Feed estimate and Marketing estimate came in close to expectations, but placements were higher than expected. This started cattle off on the defense which spilled over to cause profit taking and a light round of liquidation. News that a human in Maryland has been infected with the new world screw worm (he was in SA) added pressure as it shows how easy it is for the pest to enter in the US. Cattle managed to trim session losses late in the session due to bargain hunter buying, which gets uncovered in cattle on every break.
Buying hit the cattle market hard on Tuesday as all of the cattle contracts gapped higher on the opening bell and continued to trade with solid gains throughout the session. Early support came from bargain hunter buying as every retracement gets met with buying. Support also came from strong fundamentals, strong demand, and tight supplies. A higher boxed beef market added support as packers prepare for the last long weekend of the summer.
A quieter session developed midweek as cattle traders took a step back and evaluated the situation. Cattle traded sloppily to start the session but managed to shake off the early selling pressure and pushed to post strong gains. Profit taking and position squaring pressured cattle early in the session. But cattle shook off the early pressure and pushed to post all time new contract highs around midsession. Cattle were not able to hold their gains though as sell order were triggered late in the session. Cash activity remains light with steady bids being reported in the north. A lower boxed beef market added pressure late in the session.
Heavy selling hit the cattle market to close out the week. Cattle opened the session mixed with live cattle lower while feeder cattle were steady to higher. Mixed trading was the main focus early in the session but by midsession the path seemed set for the direction cattle were going to trade. Technical selling was the main reason for the selling pressure. A quiet steady cash trade did not help live cattle as nervous longs looked to take money off the table ahead of the long weekend. Losses were kept in check early by a decent weekly export sales pace for last week. Beef sales were reported at 13,591 MT, a 3-week high. A late round of profit taking expanded session losses.
For the week, August live cattle expired at $241.90 up $1.95. October live cattle were at $239.65 up $1.775. August feeder cattle expired at $365.925 up $5.575 while Sept feeder cattle closed at $364.775 up $2.10.
For the month, August live cattle were up $14.125. October live cattle were up $16.50. August feeder cattle were up $34.55 while Sept feeder cattle were up $33.225.
Cattle Weekly Comments August 29
Cattle Weekly Comments August 29
Cattle traded in a mixed fashion this week with the deferred cattle contracts seeing gains in half the sessions for the week ending Thursday. The front month Aug contracts expired this week and saw their activity tied to the cash trade.
Cattle started the week off on the defense with early selling tied to Friday’s bearish COF report. The On Feed estimate and Marketing estimate came in close to expectations, but placements were higher than expected. This started cattle off on the defense which spilled over to cause profit taking and a light round of liquidation. News that a human in Maryland has been infected with the new world screw worm (he was in SA) added pressure as it shows how easy it is for the pest to enter in the US. Cattle managed to trim session losses late in the session due to bargain hunter buying, which gets uncovered in cattle on every break.
Buying hit the cattle market hard on Tuesday as all of the cattle contracts gapped higher on the opening bell and continued to trade with solid gains throughout the session. Early support came from bargain hunter buying as every retracement gets met with buying. Support also came from strong fundamentals, strong demand, and tight supplies. A higher boxed beef market added support as packers prepare for the last long weekend of the summer.
A quieter session developed midweek as cattle traders took a step back and evaluated the situation. Cattle traded sloppily to start the session but managed to shake off the early selling pressure and pushed to post strong gains. Profit taking and position squaring pressured cattle early in the session. But cattle shook off the early pressure and pushed to post all time new contract highs around midsession. Cattle were not able to hold their gains though as sell order were triggered late in the session. Cash activity remains light with steady bids being reported in the north. A lower boxed beef market added pressure late in the session.
Heavy selling hit the cattle market to close out the week. Cattle opened the session mixed with live cattle lower while feeder cattle were steady to higher. Mixed trading was the main focus early in the session but by midsession the path seemed set for the direction cattle were going to trade. Technical selling was the main reason for the selling pressure. A quiet steady cash trade did not help live cattle as nervous longs looked to take money off the table ahead of the long weekend. Losses were kept in check early by a decent weekly export sales pace for last week. Beef sales were reported at 13,591 MT, a 3-week high. A late round of profit taking expanded session losses.
For the week, August live cattle expired at $241.90 up $1.95. October live cattle were at $239.65 up $1.775. August feeder cattle expired at $365.925 up $5.575 while Sept feeder cattle closed at $364.775 up $2.10.
For the month, August live cattle were up $14.125. October live cattle were up $16.50. August feeder cattle were up $34.55 while Sept feeder cattle were up $33.225.