Cattle started and ended the week under pressure but traded with gains during the middle of the week. This week’s activity was focused on the economy and tariffs as the on and off again tariffs kept index traders on their toes. Cattle biggest concern going forward is demand as it is pretty well established that supplies are going to continue to be tight. So, if demand is a concern, traders are going to keep a close eye on tariffs as well as on the economy as one will determine exports while the other determines domestic demand.
The week started with cattle gapping lower on the opening bell with pressure coming from what looks like another rough day in the stock market. Selling was also tied to last week’s lower cash trade, which was steady to down $1 the previous week at $212 to $213. Pressure was also tied to Trump’s comment that if China does not reverse their decision to increase tariffs on the US by 34%, he would increase tariffs on China by 50%. China is the third largest importer of US beef. Cattle traded in a wide trading range with most of the day’s activity tied to headlines and the direction of the Dow.
Tuesday’s session had cattle gapping higher with support spilling from an overall strong commodity market, especially the indexes. But the strength was short lived as cattle proceeded to fade their gains throughout the session, ending officially mixed. Grains were trimmed by news that the administration applied another 50% tariff on China, pushing their tariffs now to 104%. Selling was also tied to fund liquidation as the funds continue to take money off the table. The front month contracts performed better than the deferred contracts due to their connection to cash.
Cattle gapped lower on the opening bell and continued to trade on the defense throughout most of the morning half of the session. Cattle found strength after Trump announced he was putting a 90 day pause on tariffs. As once the news broke cattle gapped higher and never looked back. Technically, if the pause remains in play, cattle should be able to stage a sizeable recovery as cattle’s issues remain, tight supplies and strong demand.
Selling returned to the cattle market to end the week. After opening steady to higher, cattle ran into massive selling pressure once the stock market started to come under heavy selling pressure. The sharply lower outside markets resulted in nervous cattle longs to liquidate positions. Light selling was also tied to continued fund liquidation. Losses were trimmed in early trading due to last week’s export sales estimate. Sales were estimated at 11,855 MT, the highest level in 3 weeks. USDA’s Beef Production estimate was friendly cattle. 2024 production was unchanged at 27.055 billion pounds. 2025 production was estimated at 26.77 billion pounds vs 26.75 billion pounds last month.
For the week, April live cattle were at $202.475 down 15 cents. April feeder cattle closed at $285.175 up $5.75.
Cattle Weekly Comments April 11
Cattle Weekly Comments April 11
Cattle started and ended the week under pressure but traded with gains during the middle of the week. This week’s activity was focused on the economy and tariffs as the on and off again tariffs kept index traders on their toes. Cattle biggest concern going forward is demand as it is pretty well established that supplies are going to continue to be tight. So, if demand is a concern, traders are going to keep a close eye on tariffs as well as on the economy as one will determine exports while the other determines domestic demand.
The week started with cattle gapping lower on the opening bell with pressure coming from what looks like another rough day in the stock market. Selling was also tied to last week’s lower cash trade, which was steady to down $1 the previous week at $212 to $213. Pressure was also tied to Trump’s comment that if China does not reverse their decision to increase tariffs on the US by 34%, he would increase tariffs on China by 50%. China is the third largest importer of US beef. Cattle traded in a wide trading range with most of the day’s activity tied to headlines and the direction of the Dow.
Tuesday’s session had cattle gapping higher with support spilling from an overall strong commodity market, especially the indexes. But the strength was short lived as cattle proceeded to fade their gains throughout the session, ending officially mixed. Grains were trimmed by news that the administration applied another 50% tariff on China, pushing their tariffs now to 104%. Selling was also tied to fund liquidation as the funds continue to take money off the table. The front month contracts performed better than the deferred contracts due to their connection to cash.
Cattle gapped lower on the opening bell and continued to trade on the defense throughout most of the morning half of the session. Cattle found strength after Trump announced he was putting a 90 day pause on tariffs. As once the news broke cattle gapped higher and never looked back. Technically, if the pause remains in play, cattle should be able to stage a sizeable recovery as cattle’s issues remain, tight supplies and strong demand.
Selling returned to the cattle market to end the week. After opening steady to higher, cattle ran into massive selling pressure once the stock market started to come under heavy selling pressure. The sharply lower outside markets resulted in nervous cattle longs to liquidate positions. Light selling was also tied to continued fund liquidation. Losses were trimmed in early trading due to last week’s export sales estimate. Sales were estimated at 11,855 MT, the highest level in 3 weeks. USDA’s Beef Production estimate was friendly cattle. 2024 production was unchanged at 27.055 billion pounds. 2025 production was estimated at 26.77 billion pounds vs 26.75 billion pounds last month.
For the week, April live cattle were at $202.475 down 15 cents. April feeder cattle closed at $285.175 up $5.75.