Weekly Market Summary... March 17, 2023

A look at the week’s prices, trends, and news for the cattle/beef complex.

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For the week, fed cattle in the South traded 1.00 lower with dressed trade in the North also 1.00 lower. Feeder cattle were steady while stocker calves traded 2.00 higher. Both Live Cattle futures and Feeder Cattle futures were lower. Dressed beef cutouts were mixed with grain higher.
   

Cattle/Beef Complex Indexes...

Indexes track the daily market values for the past 10 & 60 days. Each daily value is the weighted total of the Gain/(Loss) for 15 market factors compared to the previous trading day.

10-Day Index Trendline

Change from Previous Day: -0.61%

Change from 10 Days Ago: -3.86%

   

 60-Day Index Trendline

Change from 60 Days Ago: +11.92%​

Change from 60 Day High:    -4.76%​

 

Fed Cattle: Trade in the South 1.00 lower at 164.00 with Northern trade also 1.00 lower at 265.00 on a dressed basis. In the 3 front months, Live Cattle futures closed from 1.95 to 2.25 lower. USDA’s most recent carcass weight data showed weights averaged 899 lbs., 3 lbs. lighter than last week and 20 lbs. lighter than last year.
  • This Week: 164.00 / Month Ago: 162.00 / Year Ago: 138.00 / 5 Year Avg: 122.55
Feeder Cattle: The national average price for feeder steers @ 191.26, 0.03 lower with trade mostly 2.00 lower to 2.00 higher. In the 3 front months, Feeder Cattle futures closed from 2.62 to 3.62 lower.
  • This Week: 191.26 / Month Ago: 182.56 / Year Ago: 157.90 / 5 Year Avg: 148.93
Stocker Calves: The national average price for stocker steers @ 234.86, 2.15 higher with trade mostly 2.00 lower to 6.00 higher.
  • This Week: 234.86 / Month Ago: 221.34 / Year Ago: 191.60 / 5 Year Avg: 171.27
CME Feeder Cattle Index: 187.87, 0.96 lower than last week.
  • This Week: 187.87 / Month Ago: 182.63 / Year Ago: 154.85 / 5 Year Avg: 148.45
Boxed Beef Cutouts: Choice cutout 1.56 lower at 283.35 and the Select cutout 0.90 higher at 272.44. The Choice/Select spread at 10.91, 2.46 lower.
  • This Week: 283.35 / Month Ago: 281.04 / Year Ago: 258.16 / 5 Year Avg: 245.76
Cutter Cow Cutout: 6.75 higher at 215.95.
Slaughter Cows: Trade ranged from 5.00 lower to 4.00 higher.
Total red meat production under Federal inspection for the week ending Saturday, March 18, 2023 was estimated at 1062 million lbs. according to the USDA’s Agriculture's Marketing Service. This was 0.3 percent lower than a week ago and 0.2 percent lower than a year ago.  Cumulative meat production for the year to date was 1.7 percent lower compared to the previous year.
Grain: Corn was 0.29 higher @ 6.70 with May futures @ 6.3450, 0.1725 higher. Wheat 0.41 higher at 7.90 and the futures @ 7.1050, up 0.3125.