Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were stronger on Friday, with positioning ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest cattle on feed report behind much of the activity.
The report came out after the markets closed, with placements in August down 10 per cent on the year at 1.78 million head and marketings the lowest for the month on record at 1.571 million head.
A total of 11.08 million head of cattle were on feed in the U.S. as of Sept. 1, which was down one per cent from the same time a year ago.
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The October live cattle contract gained 1.200 cents per pound at 233.575 cents while the December contract was up 1.575 cents at 235.725 cents.
October feeder cattle futures were up by 2.375 cents per pound at 354.100 cents per pound.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported wholesale boxed beef prices were down on the day, with choice boxes $3.76 lower at $382.05 per hundredweight and select boxes down $1.39 at $359.92/cwt.
Lean hog prices were mixed, with the nearby October contract up 0.5005 cents per pound at 97.975 cents, while December was down 0.075 cents at 87.625 cents.
