Cattle Weekly Comments Nov 29

Cattle Weekly Comments Nov 29

Live cattle opened the week under pressure but managed to close with small gains for the rest of the session during this short week of trading. Feeder cattle bucked that trend and posted gains in every session.

Cattle closed in opposite directions to start the short week. Live cattle slipped to end with small losses while feeder cattle rallied to close with solid gains. Both contracts gapped higher in the opening bell, but live cattle could not hold their gains and faded after midsession to end the session lower in the front four months. Feeder cattle extended session gains to post heavy triple digit gains by midsession. But like live cattle, feeder cattle ran into a buzz saw and faded its gains late. Support came from report of new world screw worm being detected in cattle in southern Mexico. This pushed the US to put a restriction on cattle importation from Mexico, which is where a significant number of the feeder cattle placed in US feedlots have come from (and Canada). But cooler heads prevailed, and cattle faded it gains and eventually the live cattle turned lower while feeders held onto gains throughout the session. Selling was tied to Friday’s negative COF report as well as from position squaring ahead of the holiday and end of month.

Strength from Monday spilled over into Tuesday’s session, but once again most of the support was seen in the feeder cattle contract while live cattle followed. Cattle opened the session higher and extended session gains early. And like yesterday, cattle faded their gains late in the session. Feeder cattle were the leaders again due to supply concerns as imports for Mexico are being halted due to screw worm being found in cattle in southern Mexico. The lack of a cash trade muted the live cattle gains. A lower corn market added support to feeder cattle.

A quieter session was seen to close out the short week ending Wednesday. After starting on the defense, cattle found support and rallied to post modest gains across the board. Support continues to come from the border closure with Mexico due to the screw worm issue in southern Mexico. Live cattle saw support from a stronger cash trade as activity started to take place at $190, with most of the activity taking place between $189 and $189.50. Feeder cattle were supported by the sloppy grain trade.

As of Nov 24, ND’s Pasture and Range Conditions were estimated at 26% good, 26% fair, and 48% p/vp up 3%.

For the week, Dec live cattle were at $188.00 up $1.225. Jan feeder cattle were at $259.20 up $4.90.

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