This was a different type of week for cattle. It was the first time that cattle traded with losses in every session of the week (as of Thursday’s close). This will also be the first week since June 16 that cattle have seen a weekly lower close. For feeder cattle it has only been since July 14.
The performance cattle have put in has been nothing short of unbelievable. Oct live cattle came on the board April 30 at $183.925 and faded lower until Sept 9 hitting its contract low of $170.50. Since then, Oct live cattle rallied to its high on Aug 27 at $242.075. That’s an increase of $71.575 but as of Thursday’s close the Oct live cattle have slipped $5.125.
The Sept feeder cattle contracts have had similar performance. Sept feeder cattle started trading Sept 26 at $249.05. The Sept contract waffled around until hitting its contract low on Nov 1 at $244.00. Since then, the contract rallied to post its contract high on Aug 27 at $370.00 but as of Thursday’s close the Sept feeder cattle contract has slipped $10.175.
Cattle started the short week off flip flopping back and forth then retracing to post heavy losses only to surge higher and trade with modest gains right up until the close when selling pressure took charge. Feeder cattle followed the lead set by the live cattle, except feeders closed mixed with pressure showing up in the front months and support in the deferred months. Cattle started the session with gains but ran into a buzz saw early, resulting in cattle to fade lower soon after the opening. Buying resumed once cattle traded with minor support and continued to hold gains up until the last few minutes of the session, when selling resurfaced pushing cattle lower. Selling was tied to the stock market as all of the major indexes were seeing heavy selling pressure due to the lower court ruling on tariffs. The lack of a cash trade added pressure to the live cattle while a late session rally in corn pressured feeder cattle. Of note, the Aug 2025 live cattle contract went off the board $55 above where the Aug 2024 contracts expired.
Selling pressure continued to be the main driver in the cattle market midweek. Cattle opened the session lower, recovered slightly, but then sold off and remained in the red for the rest of the session. Profit taking started cattle on the defense and technical selling kept pressure on cattle late in the session. Economic concerns and a softer stock market added pressure. Volatility continues to be high in cattle, which is a signal of a possible change in trend, which seasonally is possible in the short term as seasonally cattle fade lower in the fall when supplies become available.
To close out the week. live cattle opened the session steady to higher while feeder cattle started the session steady to lower. Technically cattle are starting to struggle and selling seems to be increasing. Live cattle were pressured by a slightly lower cash trade. Feeder cattle were pressured by a firm corn market. Overall, most did not expect cattle to start to come under pressure until supplies started to increase, but then again, this is the futures market which is supposed to anticipate future supply and demand. At this rate this will be the first lower weekly close in live cattle since June 16. For feeder cattle this will be the first lower close since July 14.
As of Aug 31, pasture and range conditions were estimated at 38% g/e, 31% fair, and 31% p/vp, up 1% from last week.
For the week, October Live cattle closed at $235.975 down $3.675. Sept feeder cattle closed at $359.825 down $4.95.
Cattle Weekly Comments September 5
Cattle Weekly Comments September 5
This was a different type of week for cattle. It was the first time that cattle traded with losses in every session of the week (as of Thursday’s close). This will also be the first week since June 16 that cattle have seen a weekly lower close. For feeder cattle it has only been since July 14.
The performance cattle have put in has been nothing short of unbelievable. Oct live cattle came on the board April 30 at $183.925 and faded lower until Sept 9 hitting its contract low of $170.50. Since then, Oct live cattle rallied to its high on Aug 27 at $242.075. That’s an increase of $71.575 but as of Thursday’s close the Oct live cattle have slipped $5.125.
The Sept feeder cattle contracts have had similar performance. Sept feeder cattle started trading Sept 26 at $249.05. The Sept contract waffled around until hitting its contract low on Nov 1 at $244.00. Since then, the contract rallied to post its contract high on Aug 27 at $370.00 but as of Thursday’s close the Sept feeder cattle contract has slipped $10.175.
Cattle started the short week off flip flopping back and forth then retracing to post heavy losses only to surge higher and trade with modest gains right up until the close when selling pressure took charge. Feeder cattle followed the lead set by the live cattle, except feeders closed mixed with pressure showing up in the front months and support in the deferred months. Cattle started the session with gains but ran into a buzz saw early, resulting in cattle to fade lower soon after the opening. Buying resumed once cattle traded with minor support and continued to hold gains up until the last few minutes of the session, when selling resurfaced pushing cattle lower. Selling was tied to the stock market as all of the major indexes were seeing heavy selling pressure due to the lower court ruling on tariffs. The lack of a cash trade added pressure to the live cattle while a late session rally in corn pressured feeder cattle. Of note, the Aug 2025 live cattle contract went off the board $55 above where the Aug 2024 contracts expired.
Selling pressure continued to be the main driver in the cattle market midweek. Cattle opened the session lower, recovered slightly, but then sold off and remained in the red for the rest of the session. Profit taking started cattle on the defense and technical selling kept pressure on cattle late in the session. Economic concerns and a softer stock market added pressure. Volatility continues to be high in cattle, which is a signal of a possible change in trend, which seasonally is possible in the short term as seasonally cattle fade lower in the fall when supplies become available.
To close out the week. live cattle opened the session steady to higher while feeder cattle started the session steady to lower. Technically cattle are starting to struggle and selling seems to be increasing. Live cattle were pressured by a slightly lower cash trade. Feeder cattle were pressured by a firm corn market. Overall, most did not expect cattle to start to come under pressure until supplies started to increase, but then again, this is the futures market which is supposed to anticipate future supply and demand. At this rate this will be the first lower weekly close in live cattle since June 16. For feeder cattle this will be the first lower close since July 14.
As of Aug 31, pasture and range conditions were estimated at 38% g/e, 31% fair, and 31% p/vp, up 1% from last week.
For the week, October Live cattle closed at $235.975 down $3.675. Sept feeder cattle closed at $359.825 down $4.95.