Cattle futures surge due to strong direct business incentives

Cattle futures surged on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, driven by positive developments in direct business transactions. The optimism was fueled by the lack of avian influenza in ground beef samples and robust weekly export sales figures. The USDA reported a marketing year high in beef export sales at 22,500 tons, with South Korea and Japan leading the way.

June live cattle rose by $2.95 to $176.80, while August saw a $2.85 increase to $173.95. August feeder cattle also experienced gains, with a $3.47 rise to $255.22. Direct cash cattle business remained light, with prices mainly at $295 to $296 on a dressed basis in Nebraska.

At the Apache Livestock Auction in Oklahoma, prices for feeder cattle varied, with steers over 800 pounds seeing increases while heifers and lighter steers experienced declines. Quality was reported as good to attractive with strong demand.

Boxed beef prices closed weak, with moderate demand. Lean hogs, on the other hand, had a mixed performance, with nearby contracts down and deferred months up. Pork export sales were higher than the previous week, with Mexico accounting for a significant portion of the total.

Overall, the livestock market showed signs of strength and resilience, with demand holding up well both domestically and internationally. The market is closely monitoring developments in direct business transactions and export sales to gauge future performance.