CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago live cattle futures were the highest in two years last week in reaction to gains in beef prices and to cash cattle trading at a seven-year high.
Cash cattle traded at $102 to $102.75 US per hundredweight during the week, the highest since 2003, and wholesale beef prices were the highest in six weeks at $160.97 per cwt.
With profitable prices, feedlots are marketing cattle ahead of schedule, paring supplies, analysts said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said U.S. beef export sales jumped to 27,400 tonnes the week ending Oct. 15, the most since early January 2008.
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Prior to the BSE outbreak, the U. S exported about 10 percent of its beef. Exports have been recovering since then and forecasts call for exports to hit about nine percent of production in 2010.
“World demand for beef is recovering after the upset in markets and economies in late 2008 through 2009,” said Erin Daley, economist with the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
Dailey said the weakness in the American dollar has helped spur beef exports.
Year-to-date, U.S. beef exports are 557,400 tonnes, up 30.8 percent from last year.
