Cattle sales slow
Fed cattle weekly average prices fell $1.50-$1.80 per hundredweight last week.
Prices fell through the week, said Canfax, and producers passed on bids on several lots of cattle.
Prices in Alberta on June 3 were steers $86.50-$87.75 per hundredweight, flat rail $144.90-$146.35 and heifers $86.50-$87.65.
Most packers reported slowing beef sales. Canfax said there appears to be ample supplies of boxed beef in the pipeline.
Wholesale beef prices were steady to $1 per cwt. lower, putting Calgary handyweight steers in a range of $147-$156. Hide prices are expected to ease into the summer.
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In its outlook, Canfax said packers have ample short-term inventory and it expects lower kill levels and slower beef movement.
Feedlots with cattle suitable for export may need to look at the United States if prices remain at a wide basis level in Alberta. Look for prices of $87-$88 per cwt. this week.
Slaughter cow trade eased back with averages $1-$2 per cwt. lower than the previous week.
Boneless beef prices have settled down, which might keep cow prices under pressure. Look for prices steady to $1 per cwt. lower this week.
Price averages were mixed, with some classes down $2-$3, likely due to mixed quality. Prices were steady with the previous week for cattle of equal quality.
Canfax said feeder prices should be steady to firm as volumes dwindle into the summer. Good moisture throughout the West will keep supplies small at the markets.
Bred stock cows ranged in price from $550-$1,100. Bred heifers were poorly quoted in a range of $800-$1,100. Cow-calf pair sales were from $775-$1,500 on a fair volume.
Still too much pork
Hog prices slipped sharply last week as the market continued to suffer from ample supply and lower pork prices.
The good news was average hog market weights declined in the U.S., indicating that American operations might have reduced their backlog of hogs.
However, the progress toward lower pork production could be put on hold as the Memorial Day-shortened slaughter week caused hog marketings to back up again.
Iowa-Southern Minnesota hog prices (plant top, 51-52 percent lean, live equivalent) declined to $36.50 per cwt. (U.S.) on June 3, down by almost $5 per cwt. from a week earlier.
News of reduced pork imports to the U.S. because of dioxin contamination seems to have had a positive effect on hog futures. Although lean carcass futures prices for June fell for most of this week, prices increased for the summer and fall months.
Estimated Manitoba Index 100 hog prices declined to an average of $128 per hundred kilograms this week, $7 per ckg lower than last week.
