Cattle prices rise
Fed cattle sales strengthened last week with steers averaging $1 per cwt. higher and heifers $2 higher.
Canfax said price ranges were wide because extra heavy steers are dominating the lower end of the price range. Also, some short-fed cattle (80 days) are starting to make their way into the mix.
Volumes were down 13 percent from the previous week. Packers appear to have cleaned up their supply.
Prices Nov. 4 were steers $88.30-$93 per cwt. and heifers $90-$95.75.
Canfax said slower beef movement and narrow margins caused packers to reduce kills.
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Last week’s Alberta kill of 44,444 head was the smallest non-holiday kill since April.
How much packers reduce kills in November will be an important factor in price. The Remembrance Day week will see little change in the kill since most are planning to work through the holiday.
Some packers have also turned to increasing cow kills due to better margins. Canfax said western Canadian fed cattle prices could strengthen over the next couple of weeks.
Supplies will decline until August-placed yearlings are market ready, usually in early December.
Prices will also be affected by the outcome this week of the American anti-dumping case.
Fewer extra heavy cattle in the mix will also help average prices through November.
A larger volume on offer put pressure on slaughter cow prices, dropping them by $2-$4 per cwt. Most D1,2 cows ranged from $45-$50 with a few sales higher. The outlook is barely steady on growing volumes.
Feeder calf prices were $2-$5 per cwt. lower on the average while yearlings were $1-$2 lower, said Canfax.
The early week drop was mostly due to the huge volumes moving the previous week.
Prices recovered a little by week’s end thanks to more farmer buying.
Cattle volumes for the months of August to October were 12 percent larger than the same months in 1998.
During October, 550 lb. steers were $20 per cwt. higher than 1998 and 850 lb. steers were $12 higher.
Feeder cattle and calf prices should remain mostly steady as volumes decrease through November. There are big increases in feeder cattle imports from the U.S.
Bred cattle sales saw wide price ranges at first glance, but once quality is factored in only a few poorer types traded at the low end of the range.
Bred cows ranged from $450-$1,540 with most at $1,200-$1,300. Bred heifers ranged from $775-$1,510 with good quality types at $1,200-$1,350. A limited number of cow-calf pairs were priced from $1,100-$1,340.
Pork prices drop
United States hog slaughter was more than 2.1 million head again last week, exceeding expectations and adding to the oversupply of pork.
But average carcass weights appear to be steady to lower than a year ago. Wholesale pork prices declined all week, particularly prices for pork bellies. Decreasing cutout prices improved pork sales, but led to lower hog prices.
Iowa-southern Minnesota hog prices (51-52 percent lean, live equivalent) were in a range of $28-$35 (U.S.) per hundredweight Nov. 5. The mean was $32.85, down $2.32 from the previous Friday.
The higher than projected hog prices so far this fall have been attributed to improved export and domestic demand for pork, as well as the food aid package to Russia.
The benefits of the latter have waned and the high slaughter rate threatens to create a pork oversupply that could drive U.S. hog prices below $30, roughly the break-even point, in late November and December.
But increased retailer demand for pork for the coming U.S. Thanksgiving holiday could keep prices from falling too far this month.
Manitoba Agriculture estimated the index 100 price in that province at $123 (Cdn) per 100 kilograms, down $8 from the previous week.
