Unlike other beef cuts, wholesale prices for fresh 90% lean beef keep rising, setting record highs in each of the last seven weeks.
USDA wholesale price data compiled and published by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver, showed a weekly wholesale beef price of $346.86 per cwt, up $2.05, or 0.59%, from $344.81 a week earlier. More importantly, the price was up $70.95, or 25.71%, from $275.91 per cwt a year ago and up $108.30, or 45.4%, from the previous five-year average of $238.56.
CONTINUOUS RISE
Historical data shows that weekly prices for 90% lean beef generally rise into June before falling off into an October annual low. Last year, though, prices rose into September before falling off to a December low.
This year, the weekly USDA price for fresh 90% lean beef has risen steeply from the first week in January. It also shows no sign of slowing down.
However, weekly fresh 50% lean beef prices have struggled since hitting an early high of $99.87 per cwt the first week of February. The weekly price hit a high of $105.84 the third week of March, but the price graph shows it was a tussle.
SHARP DIFFERENCES
The performance of the 90% lean beef is in stark contrast to other major cuts of beef. Wholesale boneless beef ribeye prices, for instance, have meandered sideways to lower this year so far, flirting with last year’s levels but staying higher than the 2018-2022 average.
Last week’s wholesale price for those ribeyes was $975.48 per cwt, up $43.70, or 4.69%, from $931.78 the previous week but down $65.65, or 6.31%, from $1,041.13 a year earlier and up $141.25, or 16.93%, from the previous five-year average of $834.23.
Weekly tenderloin prices have faded all year with few exceptions. Last week’s price was quoted at $1,302.74 per cwt, down $285.14, or 18.0%, from $1,587.88 a year earlier but up $282.85, or 27.7%, from the 2018-2022 average of $1,019.89.
Even end cuts, normally a refuge of price stability in times of leanness for consumers, have shown some wholesale price weakness. Chuck rolls last week were listed by the USDA at $382.09 per cwt, compared with $381.18 the first week of January. In the interim, chuck rolls this year have risen to a high of $460.13 the last week of January before falling away to this year’s low two weeks ago.
Last week’s chuck roll price was up $2.35, or 0.62%, from $379.74 a year earlier and up %73.79, or 23.9%, from the previous five-year average of $308.30.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $182.28 per cwt to $185.81, compared with last week’s range of $182.00 to $190.00 per cwt. FOB dressed steers, and heifers went for $287.22 per cwt to $292.58, compared with $289.57 to $295.37.
The USDA choice cutout Wednesday was down $1.21 per cwt at $296.81 while select was off $1.76 at $290.88. The choice/select spread widened to $5.93 from $5.38 with 102 loads of fabricated product and 20 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The daily weighted average USDA listed wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef was $342.90 per cwt, and 50% beef was $87.19.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.40 to $1.50 a bushel over the May corn contract, which settled at $4.30 1/4 a bushel, down $0.00 3/4.
No live cattle contracts were tendered for delivery Wednesday.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Tuesday was $242.63 per cwt, up $1.27. This compares with Wednesday’s Apr contract settlement of $240.42, up $0.07.