* Aug. 1 feedlot cattle supply down 6 pct year-over-year
* July placements down 10 percent, below forecasts
* Marketings in July up 5 percent, better than expected
* Report seen as bullish for cattle futures on Monday
CHICAGO, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots in July fell 10 percent from a year earlier, a government report showed on Friday.
Analysts attributed the decline to costly feed and reduced cattle supplies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture showed July placements at 1.722 million head, compared with 1.922 million a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected a 1.4 percent decrease.
USDA put the feedlot cattle supply as of Aug. 1 at 10.026 million head, or 94 percent of the year-earlier total. Analysts polled by Reuters, on average, expected 95.8 percent.
The government said the number of cattle sold to packers, or marketings, in July was 105 percent of a year earlier, or two million head, versus analysts’ forecast of 104.4 percent.
Analysts called the government report supportive for live cattle contracts early on Monday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
