Cattle pushed higher in three out of the four sessions for the week ending Thursday. Support came from strong demand as well as from tight supplies and the concerns that supplies will only continue to tighten up. The strength was enough to push live cattle and feeder cattle to another round of new contract highs early in the week, and then to new highs to close out the week as Friday’s session had cattle trading sharply higher.
Cattle started the week higher but spent most of the session trading in a back-and-forth fashion. Early support came from comments from the Sec of Ag stating if Mexico does not start to take the new screw worm infestation seriously and get it under control, the US will have no choice but to close the boarder to Mexican cattle. Comments from Mexico’s president calmed down the market around midsession. Gains were trimmed late in the session in the live cattle from the lack of a cash trade. Feeder cattle saw strong gains in the front month April as traders tried to close the gap between futures and cash. Strong demand and fears that if the border does close, supplies of feeder cattle will become extremely tight. Gains were trimmed late in the session due to profit taking and position squaring ahead of month end. Tight supplies and strong cash bids continue to be the main driver in cattle. Live cattle gains were subdued from consumer demand concerns while feeder cattle gains were strong due to support from a lower grain complex.
Technical selling showed up in the cattle markets midweek as traders started to take money off the table ahead of month end. Selling was tied to profit taking and technical selling. Selling was also tied to pressure from a weaker stock market as economic concerns resurface. Losses were kept in check by tight supplies and strong cash bids.
Buying returned to the cattle market on Thursday as cattle gapped higher on the opening bell with early support coming from Wednesday’s sharply higher cash trade. Cash activity was reported at $222, $5 to $6 above the previous week. A lower grain complex added support. But soon after the strong opening, cattle started to fade, which resulted in a round of profit taking once weak longs started to run to the sidelines. Strong cash bids and the need to bring cash and futures more in line with each other helped to support the front month contracts.
For the week, April live cattle expired at $215.75 up $1.50 while June live cattle closed at $211.10 up $2.85. May feeder cattle closed at $294.95 up $4.425.
For the month, April live cattle were up $7.95 while June live cattle were up $4.75. May feeder cattle closed up $8.07.
Cattle Weekly Comments May 2
Cattle Weekly Comments May 2
Cattle pushed higher in three out of the four sessions for the week ending Thursday. Support came from strong demand as well as from tight supplies and the concerns that supplies will only continue to tighten up. The strength was enough to push live cattle and feeder cattle to another round of new contract highs early in the week, and then to new highs to close out the week as Friday’s session had cattle trading sharply higher.
Cattle started the week higher but spent most of the session trading in a back-and-forth fashion. Early support came from comments from the Sec of Ag stating if Mexico does not start to take the new screw worm infestation seriously and get it under control, the US will have no choice but to close the boarder to Mexican cattle. Comments from Mexico’s president calmed down the market around midsession. Gains were trimmed late in the session in the live cattle from the lack of a cash trade. Feeder cattle saw strong gains in the front month April as traders tried to close the gap between futures and cash. Strong demand and fears that if the border does close, supplies of feeder cattle will become extremely tight. Gains were trimmed late in the session due to profit taking and position squaring ahead of month end. Tight supplies and strong cash bids continue to be the main driver in cattle. Live cattle gains were subdued from consumer demand concerns while feeder cattle gains were strong due to support from a lower grain complex.
Technical selling showed up in the cattle markets midweek as traders started to take money off the table ahead of month end. Selling was tied to profit taking and technical selling. Selling was also tied to pressure from a weaker stock market as economic concerns resurface. Losses were kept in check by tight supplies and strong cash bids.
Buying returned to the cattle market on Thursday as cattle gapped higher on the opening bell with early support coming from Wednesday’s sharply higher cash trade. Cash activity was reported at $222, $5 to $6 above the previous week. A lower grain complex added support. But soon after the strong opening, cattle started to fade, which resulted in a round of profit taking once weak longs started to run to the sidelines. Strong cash bids and the need to bring cash and futures more in line with each other helped to support the front month contracts.
For the week, April live cattle expired at $215.75 up $1.50 while June live cattle closed at $211.10 up $2.85. May feeder cattle closed at $294.95 up $4.425.
For the month, April live cattle were up $7.95 while June live cattle were up $4.75. May feeder cattle closed up $8.07.