Large commodity index firms, or managed money, cut their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as cattle owners reduced their total net long position. That was from the weekly Commitments of Traders report by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday.   FUNDS SELL CATTLE   Managed money, Tuesday, had … Read More

The July Consumer Price Index by the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the All-Items CPI was 2.9% higher than a year ago, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center’s Livestock Monitor. This was the first time the inflation rate has been less than 3% since March 2021 when it was 2.6%, the LMIC said.  In July, … Read More

The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service predicted in a report that Brazilian cattle slaughter will decline next year because of a forecasted start of the reversion of the cattle cycle. Producers there likely will start retaining cattle in 2025, driving calf prices upwards, the FAS said. Also, record beef exports were forecast for 2024 and 2025, … Read More

The August USDA Cattle on Feed report, combined with other USDA data, suggests a more robust US beef demand than is implied by other metrics, a market analyst said by email Tuesday. Steer and heifer slaughter and carcass weights are up significantly from a year ago, yet the market provides enough margin for a higher … Read More

Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, reduced their collective net long live cattle position in the week ended last Tuesday, Aug. 20. At the same time, hedgers trimmed their total net short position, according to data from the weekly Commitments of Traders report by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday.   MANAGED MONEY … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers on July 31 were down about 3% from the previous month and from last year, according to the monthly Cold Storage report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Friday. Total frozen poultry supplies were up about 2% from the previous month but down about 5% from a year … Read More

Canada’s rail lockout, which shut down the country’s two largest railroads and halted all rail shipments crossing the US border, has huge implications for the US economy, news outlets said. News reports indicated the main issues were “working conditions like shift scheduling and fatigue, which Teamsters spokesmen lumped together under “safety.”  Pay does not seem … Read More