Prices rise for fed cattle
Fed steers gained $2.50 per hundredweight last week and heifers were $3
stronger.
Toward the end of the week, Canfax said some packers seemed to have
good supply and were waiting as long as seven days to pick up cattle.
The volume for the week was nine percent larger at 20,500 head. Most
buyers were Western Canadian.
Alberta prices Nov. 14 were steers $97.25-$101.35 per cwt., flat rail
$165.65-$167.20 and heifers $101.50-$102.50.
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The beef business is fairly steady. Wholesale beef prices in Calgary
are $2 higher at $154-$159 per cwt. with tops to $165. The eastern
market is steady at $167.
Canfax said the stronger prices should hold this week.
Western packers seem comfortable with their inventories. However,
cattle in the United States traded $1 higher last week at $70 US. That,
coupled with the lower Canadian dollar, has widened the basis in
Canada. This should start to create additional American buying interest.
Feeder cattle prices were stronger on all classes. All steer and heifer
feeder calves and yearlings were $1-$2 per cwt. Cdn higher.
The strength was due to a smaller supply, a higher fed cattle cash
market, and the lower Canadian dollar that increased interest from
American buyers.
Total auction market volume was 74,000 head, 34 percent smaller than
the week before but 42 percent larger than the same week last year.
Slaughter cows traded $1.75 per cwt. lower, but in a tighter range than
last week.
Most D1, 2 cows sold between $40-$46 with top cows trading as high as
$48-$53.
Canfax said the lower Canadian dollar should continue to create
additional interest from the U.S. Coupled with the smaller volumes,
this will likely help hold prices steady.
The bred cow market was fairly steady. Prices on top quality bred cows
reached as high as $1,200, but the bulk traded at $600-$1,050.
Until there is more moisture, few producers will feel comfortable
enough with their feed supplies to increase cow numbers, said Canfax.
Bred heifers traded in the same range as cows, $600-$1,200.
Hog packers like profits
Profitable margins motivated American packers to buy hogs despite
moderate wholesale pork demand.
On average, the composite pork cutout value was similar to the week
before. Rib prices were lower but pork belly prices were higher.
Belly prices increased $3.90 US per cwt. Nov. 11-14, despite the weekly
storage report that showed higher than expected movement of pork
bellies into storage, said Manitoba Agriculture.
Lean hog futures prices continued to rise, reaching new highs in most
contract months Nov. 11.
The rally inspired funds to enter the market. However, prices declined
later in the week due to profit taking and the Goldman roll, the name
of the process when traders move positions out of the nearby contract
to deferred months.
The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent,
lean carcass converted to live weight) fell from $31.63 US per cwt. on
Nov. 11 to $29.32 Nov. 14, a drop of about 7.5 percent.
Despite the decline in American hog prices, the average hog price in
Manitoba was steady. This was due to the influence of price contracts
based on the previous week’s higher American market.
American carcass weights under federal inspection were two pounds
lighter for the week ending Nov. 2 than 12 months earlier.
