Commercial beef production in October totaled 2.13 billion pounds, 1.84% below October 2014’s 2.17 billion, on slaughter of 2.51 million head, 4.92% fewer than in the previous October when it was 2.64 million, the USDA said Thursday in its monthly Livestock Slaughter report. October beef production did not fall as much as the slaughter rate … Read More

US cattle producers have a tough year ahead of them, fraught with many uncertainties. Currency exchange rates, beef and cattle imports and exports, beef production levels and US consumer demand, not to mention weather influences on cattle health and feed production all will influence cattle markets for 2016 and beyond. But what market influences are … Read More

Fall typically is the time of year when weekly hog slaughter rates are the highest and prices are the weakest.  This year is no exception, and the weak hog prices are lending pressure to cattle markets. Base slaughter hog prices have trended well below last year all year, and they have been below the previous … Read More

Among the many price-moving influences in live cattle futures, technical indicators play as much of a role in trade decisions as more fundamental factors. While acknowledging that many futures traders are adept at reading the charts and making trading decisions based solely on chart patterns, fundamental traders often find technical patterns difficult to identify.  In … Read More

Managed money continues to hold a limited net long position in live cattle futures as these large funds trimmed their positions during the week ended Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments-of-Traders report Friday said managed money had a net long position Tuesday of 5,207 contracts, down 4,012, or 43.5%, from 9,219 … Read More

According to the Sterling Profit Tracker, packer margins more than doubled last week to $29.35 per head from $12.22 a week earlier, but amid the market turmoil over fed cattle price gyrations, maintaining these margins remains a challenge. Certain holiday-oriented beef cuts have been firm to higher, but now appear to be losing favor with … Read More

The third quarter of 2015 showed continued positive shifts in fresh beef demand that brought the retail fresh beef demand index up to 94 from 87 in 2014 and the highest third-quarter reading since 1991. The Retail All Fresh Beef Demand Index is a product of the Livestock Marketing Information Center and is calculated by … Read More