Managed money, a proxy for large commodity investment firms, again boosted their combined net long position in live cattle futures during the week ended Tuesday, as hedgers raised their net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday.   FUNDS GET LONGER CATTLE   Managed money’s … Read More

The Australia beef industry is showing signs of entering a herd rebuilding phase, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report. The rebuilding efforts firmed FAS/Canberra’s 2021 forecasts of lower cattle slaughter, cattle exports, beef production and beef exports, the report said. With a reduced breeding herd and more heifers expected to be retained … Read More

Dry conditions in the western US continue to bring long-run uncertainty to cattle price prospects as strong export markets fueled rising feed costs over the last six months, said Matthew Diersen, risk and business management specialist at South Dakota State University (go Jackrabbits), in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter to Extension agents called In … Read More

The spread between USDA-reported weekly choice and select beef carcass prices has fallen on uncharacteristic hard times and appears to be at a decision point. After opening the year significantly higher than last year or the 2015-2019 average and even going against a seasonal downturn for a time, the choice/select beef price spread fell sharply … Read More

Canada’s cattle-on-feed numbers continued to run lower than last year but greater than the 2015-2019 average as of March 1, while placement numbers through February were more than last year and the previous five-year average. The data came from CanFax, a private market advisory group there.  CanFax shares the full set of its data about … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, known as managed money, increased their net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday, reversing a two-week decline, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday. The same report said commercial traders, those who own, or will own, the cattle and … Read More

The current 2021 Argentine beef export forecast is 770,000 tonnes carcass weight equivalent, 50,000 fewer than in 2020, said the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, in an attaché report. The lower exports stem from lower slaughter forecasts resulting from negative margins, the report said.  Overall exports there depend heavily on China’s demand and market recovery from … Read More