USA: Cattle market overview for the 11th week of 2022

Traders are unsure about consumer demand amid rising food prices.

Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) strengthened on Friday as nearby grain futures tumbled, traders said, despite trading in cash markets continuing to be disappointing and investors keeping a close eye on diplomatic efforts around the Ukraine crisis. .

CME cattle futures also received support, analysts said, as retail demand for beef rebounded. the industry is beginning to prepare for increased demand for beef ahead of the summer grilling season, Reuters reported.

But there is a growing debate in the trading community about whether rising inflation, driving up consumer prices for food and fuel, could stifle household demand for steaks and high-quality beef this summer, said Carl Setzer, commodity risk analyst at Agrivisor.

“I don’t think our grill demand is going to go down because what else are you going to be spending money on right now,” Setzer said. “You can't get a new car and people don't buy houses like they used to. The only thing people buy to feel better is food.”

The most active June CME livestock futures rose 1.150 cents to 137.075 cents a pound. April feedstock rose 1.225 cents to $162.325 a pound, while the most active May feedstock futures rose 1.575 cents to $167,450 a pound.

Boxed beef rose $2.56 to $259.61 per quintal by Friday morning, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA ) . Individual cuts rose 83 cents to $251.51 per centner.

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WEEKLY CUT CHOICE COST

CATTLE SALES

Sale of livestock, heads

Average weight

03/11/2022

03/18/2022

Growth per week,%

03/11/2022

03/18/2022

Growth,%

Bulls (live weight)

29 301

21 685

-26.0%

1478

1475

-0.2%

Heifers (live weight)

12 654

13 558

7.1%

1 329

1 351

1.7%

Bulls (slaughter. weight)

13 676

5 855

-57.2%

964

964

0.0%

Heifers (slaughter weight)

6437

1 888

-70.7%

847

855

0.9%

WEEKLY WEIGHTED AVERAGE PRICE OF BULLS

BEEF PRODUCTION

Slaughter volume

11 week

11 week 2021

Growth per year,%

Live weight

644 000

629 000

2.4%

slaughter weight

1396

1379

1.2%

Beef production (million pounds)

842

833

1.1%

Beef production (thousand tons)

540.9

522.8

3.5%

CME, Livestock Futures

Week 10

Week 11

Growth per week,%

April

137.30

140.50

2.3%

June

132.95

137.08

3.1%

August

135.08

137.60

1.9%

CME, Fattener Cattle Futures

March

153.28

157.00

2.4%

April

157.98

162.33

2.8%

May

163.73

167.45

2.3%

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