USA: Cattle market review for week 36 from September 11, 2023

U.S. cattle inventories have fallen to their lowest levels in decades after producers cut their herds over the past year as drought reduced the availability of pasture for grazing .

October feeder cattle futures rose 0.275 cents to 259.150 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and hit a contract high of 259.650 cents. Live cattle set highs in the June 2024 and August 2024 contracts. Heading into October, the live cattle price fell 0.425 cents to 183.225 cents per pound, a day after hitting its highest price since July 20.

This week's earnings signal expectations for higher livestock prices in cash markets, brokers said. They added that producers are willing to delay sales to processors to wait for higher prices.

About 125,000 HEAD of cattle were sent to slaughter last week, up from 122,000 head a week ago and 128,000 head of cattle a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Block beef prices rose due to a reduction in variety by $1.24 to $312.90 per cwt., the USDA reported separately.

High beef prices have dampened U.S. EXPORT demand following a decline in cattle supplies. Weekly U.S. beef export sales totaled 11,900 metric tons, down 34% from the previous week and 20% from the previous four-week average, according to the USDA.

WEEKLY COST OF CUTTINGS CAT.CHOICE

CATTLE SALES

Sale of livestock, heads

Average weight

Week 35

Week 36

Weekly growth,%

Week 35

Week 36

Weekly growth,%

Bulls (live weight)

21,707

6,500

-70.1%

1,476

1 485

0.6%

Heifers (live weight)

8 651

2 311

-73.3%

1 283

1 330

3.7%

Steers (slaughter weight)

9,980

6,592

-33.9%

941

946

0.5%

Heifers (slaughter weight)

2 365

2,098

-11.3%

843

837

-0.7%

WEEKLY WEIGHTED AVERAGE PRICE OF CALLS

BEEF PRODUCTION

Index

Week 36

Week 35

Week 36 2022

Weekly growth,%

Growth over the year, %

Slaughter volume

559,000

629,000

606,000

-11.1%

-7.8%

Live weight

1 355

1 351

1,367

0.3%

-0.9%

Slaughter weight

823

820

830

0.4%

-0.8%

Beef production (million pounds)

458.8

514.5

502.0

-10.8%

-8.6%

CME: Live Cattle Futures

Week 35

Week 36

Weekly growth,%

October

180.15

183.23

1.7%

December

184.18

187.47

1.8%

February

188.33

191.70

1.8%

Feeder cattle futures

September

251.85

255.35

1.4%

October

254.65

259.15

1.8%

November

256.38

260.63

1.7%

You can find out more about the state of the cattle market in the usa (livestock prices, the cost of beef by category, production dynamics) in the weekly reviews of the MEAT market in RUSSIA and in the world from Meatinfo.ru. Weekly reviews are available for free as part of a subscription to monthly meat analytics Russian markets.