Morning Cattle Market Report

March feeder cattle rose to an all-time high price for the 10th time in the last 12 sessions, as replacement supply is thought to be extremely limited. If there is a shift towards an expansionary phase for the cattle industry, short-term supply could tighten even further. April cattle closed sharply higher on the session yesterday even through outside market forces may have shifted from a positive to a negative influence on the market. Solid gains in equity markets overnight and a weaker US dollar are expected to be supportive factor for cattle futures this morning. Weakness in the beef market late Monday caused packer margins to go deeper into the red, which may have caused the market to pull back from early highs. However, strength in grains and hogs may have helped the market to recover later on in the day. The estimated cattle slaughter came in at 125,000 head yesterday, which was higher than market expectations. This brings the total for the week so far to 239,000 head, down from 248,000 head last week at this time and down from 245,000 head a year ago. Boxed beef cutout values were up 11 cents at mid-session yesterday and closed 35 cents higher at $183.23. This was down from $184.20 the prior week. Cash markets traded at $124.00 last week, down $2.00 for the week and offers have emerged this week at $126.00.

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