Cattle pushed higher in three out of the four session this week ending Thursday. Friday’s session had cattle gapping higher pushing Feb live cattle within cents of its all-time contract higher while Jan feeder cattle finally broke above its all-time contract high. Tight supplies, record cash bids, strong demand, and a dose of wintery weather all helped push cattle higher this week.
Cattle opened higher and extended session gains right out of the gate. Support came from weather forecasts calling for heavy snow and cold temps for much of the major cattle feeding regions of the Plains. Light support for live cattle also came from last week’s record cash activity. Cash traded at $200 in the North. Tight supplies and strong demand continue to put underlying support to cattle. Gains were trimmed late in the session by profit taking and technical selling as well as from hedge pressure.
Buying continued to dominate the cattle markets on Tuesday. Live cattle gains were lightly subdued due to the lack of a cash trade. Feeder cattle were not impacted as much. opened the session higher and extended session gains early but faded slightly to close with modest gains in live cattle and solid gains in feeders. It’s a broken record for cattle as strong demand and tight supplies continue to push managed money to extend their long positions. The lack of news on when the border will open added support. Expectation that tariffs could result in a longer-term suspension of cattle coming into the US from Canada and Mexico added support.
Selling took charge midweek as live cattle opened with small gains and held those gains for the first part of the session but then turned to close lower. Feeder cattle opened slightly lower and continued to lose ground. The losses slowed down at the end of the session, but the market still closed solidly lower. Pressure came from last night’s reports that the US/Mexico border will reopen the week of Jan. 20. Cattle importation will start slowly to test protocols, which include a 7-day quarantine period. It’s estimated between 250,000 to 300,000 fewer cattle have entered the US due to the border closure that began on Nov. 22. Cash trade has yet to be reported this week.
Strong buying returned to the cattle as both contracts opened the session with gains and near session lows and proceeded to extend gains throughout the rest of the session. Early support came from reports of strong cash offers. Cash bids for feeder cattle and fat cattle continue to set records due to tight supplies and strong demand. Light support was also due to comments from USDA backing away from the week of Jan 20 border opening. Technical buying was evident as every break in cattle continues to get met with a massive amount of buying, and yesterday’s pullback gave a lot of traded an opportunity to reestablish long positions. Tight supplies and strong demand will continue to keep a floor under cattle. At least for the short term. Technically cattle are starting to look tired.
For the week, Feb live cattle were at $198.775 up $4.725. Jan feeder cattle were at $272.35 up $7.525.
Cattle Weekly Comments January 10
Cattle Weekly Comments January 10
Cattle pushed higher in three out of the four session this week ending Thursday. Friday’s session had cattle gapping higher pushing Feb live cattle within cents of its all-time contract higher while Jan feeder cattle finally broke above its all-time contract high. Tight supplies, record cash bids, strong demand, and a dose of wintery weather all helped push cattle higher this week.
Cattle opened higher and extended session gains right out of the gate. Support came from weather forecasts calling for heavy snow and cold temps for much of the major cattle feeding regions of the Plains. Light support for live cattle also came from last week’s record cash activity. Cash traded at $200 in the North. Tight supplies and strong demand continue to put underlying support to cattle. Gains were trimmed late in the session by profit taking and technical selling as well as from hedge pressure.
Buying continued to dominate the cattle markets on Tuesday. Live cattle gains were lightly subdued due to the lack of a cash trade. Feeder cattle were not impacted as much. opened the session higher and extended session gains early but faded slightly to close with modest gains in live cattle and solid gains in feeders. It’s a broken record for cattle as strong demand and tight supplies continue to push managed money to extend their long positions. The lack of news on when the border will open added support. Expectation that tariffs could result in a longer-term suspension of cattle coming into the US from Canada and Mexico added support.
Selling took charge midweek as live cattle opened with small gains and held those gains for the first part of the session but then turned to close lower. Feeder cattle opened slightly lower and continued to lose ground. The losses slowed down at the end of the session, but the market still closed solidly lower. Pressure came from last night’s reports that the US/Mexico border will reopen the week of Jan. 20. Cattle importation will start slowly to test protocols, which include a 7-day quarantine period. It’s estimated between 250,000 to 300,000 fewer cattle have entered the US due to the border closure that began on Nov. 22. Cash trade has yet to be reported this week.
Strong buying returned to the cattle as both contracts opened the session with gains and near session lows and proceeded to extend gains throughout the rest of the session. Early support came from reports of strong cash offers. Cash bids for feeder cattle and fat cattle continue to set records due to tight supplies and strong demand. Light support was also due to comments from USDA backing away from the week of Jan 20 border opening. Technical buying was evident as every break in cattle continues to get met with a massive amount of buying, and yesterday’s pullback gave a lot of traded an opportunity to reestablish long positions. Tight supplies and strong demand will continue to keep a floor under cattle. At least for the short term. Technically cattle are starting to look tired.
For the week, Feb live cattle were at $198.775 up $4.725. Jan feeder cattle were at $272.35 up $7.525.