This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca.
Fed markets stagnant
The Canadian fed cattle market is in the usual summer doldrums with weaker basis levels and prices hovering around annual lows.
The Canfax fed steer weighted average was $146.83 per hundredweight, down 59 cents, and heifers averaged $146.32, down just seven cents.
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The Alberta cash-to-futures basis weakened to -$5.22 from -$4.20
The two Alberta packers are taking different approaches to managing inventories.
One packer has been slaughtering six days a week and has been more active on the cash market. It is taking delivery of cattle within a couple of weeks of purchase
The other plant is running five days a week and seems to have August cattle needs covered. It is now booking cattle for the beginning of September.
Weekly exports were light, totalling slightly more than 3,600 head.
U.S. feedlots are more current in marketing their inventories than are their Canadian counterparts.
U.S. steer carcass weights were 883 lb. last week, down one lb. from the same time last year. Heifer carcasses were 803 lb., four lb. larger.
Canadian steer carcasses averaged 913 lb., up eight lb. from the previous week and up about 20 lb. from last year.
Canadian feedlots will be forced to sell to keep weights under control.
Beef and cattle prices are being helped by a strong market for 50 percent trim, which is four percent higher than a year ago, while the AAA and AA cut-out values are 15 to 17 percent below last year.
In the United States, cash sales on dressed cattle were steady to as much as US$3 lower.
There was talk at the end of the week that packers were bidding at $119 per cwt.live, compared to $118-$120 the previous week.
Cows steady
D1, D2 cows ranged C$92-$110 to average $101.33, up 25 cents. D3 cows ranged $80-$94 to average $87.50, down $1.
Rail grade cows were $190-$195 per cwt.
Butcher bulls were steady, averaging $122.75.
Weekly western Canadian slaughter to Aug. 6 rose two percent to 4,384 head. Slaughter is up 11 percent this year at 191,421 head.
Weekly exports to July 30 rebounded to 4,475 head.
Hamburger demand is supporting the price.
Feeders edge higher
Cattle at auction were of better quality, which helped lift average prices.
Volume was especially lifted by one large yearling sale, but regular sale volumes are also seasonally trending larger.
Calf volumes were light, and prices were generally steady.
Trade was mostly in yearlings, and steers heavier than 700 lb. were $5-$10 per cwt. higher. Heifers rose $5-$15.
The weekly auction volume was 32,777 head. Volume is 620,291 this year, down seven percent.
Weekly exports to July 30 fell to 817 head. Exports are 143,865 for the year, down 39 percent.
Volumes should seasonally increase as more yearlings come off grass.
There was strong interest in large feeders that will be ready to sell in the fourth quarter.
The feeding loss on a 1,000 lb. steer is currently projected at $125-$150 per head, but cheaper feedgrain and an anticipated futures rally could eliminate most of the red ink.
US beef rises
The U.S. Choice cutout on Aug. 11 was US$201.58, up $2.32, and Select was $192.82, up $1.97.
Weekly Canadian boxed beef prices to Aug. 6 traded lower with AAA at C$258.76, down $4.75, and AA was $249.11, down $4.02.
The AAA-AA spread at $9.65 continued to narrow from the peak of $32 in mid-June but remained wider than the year-ago level at $4.59 and the five-year average of $4.64.
