Fed cattle prices fall
Fed steers fell $3.25 per hundredweight and heifers fell $2.75.
Frustrated producers passed many cattle and the volume dropped by 16
percent, Canfax said.
American packers did a lot of the buying. Western packers already had
lots of inventory. A large cow kill kept slaughter numbers large.
Alberta prices June 27 were steers $87.25-$88 per cwt., flat rail
$147.10-$147.65 and heifers $88.50-$88.75, flat rail 147.35, Canfax
said.
Wholesale beef prices in Montreal are steady at $157-$159 per cwt. and
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prices in Calgary for handyweights are $147-$161 (mostly $147-$151).
The Canadian dollar gained almost one cent, which removed $1 per cwt.
from live fed cattle prices. The rest of the decline was based on large
packer inventories and expectations for slower beef movement in July.
The Alberta basis has widened to a more historical level, suggesting
steady prices unless the dollar rises more.
Most classes of feeder steers and heifers were $2-$4 per cwt. lower,
Canfax said. Steers and heifers heavier than 800 pounds were mostly
steady in light trade.
Volumes at Alberta auction markets were up due to a larger run of
slaughter cows and cow-calf pairs.
Slaughter cow price averages were steady, but under pressure.
Higher barley prices and lower fed cattle prices should keep the
pressure on feeder markets.
Large volumes of cow-calf pairs sold mostly at $1,100-$1,400 with
quality young cows as high as $1,500, and common types as low as $900.
Bred cows and heifers sold at $750-$1,100.
Hog prices fall
With lower retailer demand for pork cuts, wholesale pork prices fell.
Falling margins early in the week led U.S. packers to pay less for the
ample supply of hogs, Manitoba Agriculture said.
Producers sold more hogs because of concerns about possible lower
prices due to the shortened July 4 holiday week and the bearish impacts
of the United States Department of Agriculture’s hogs and pigs report
released June 28.
Pork belly futures traders were concerned about the large hog slaughter
and expectations for reduced bacon demand after the holiday.
The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent
lean, live equivalent) was $43.45 US per cwt. on June 24. It edged up
the next day, but fell to $43.10 on June 27.
The week’s average price was eight to nine percent higher than the
previous week’s price.
USDA’s quarterly hog inventory report for June 1 showed the total
number of hogs on U.S. farms was 2.1 percent above last year.
Hogs kept for breeding were up by 0.4 percent, while hogs kept for
market increased by 2.3 percent from a year ago.
