This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca.
Fed volume moderates
Market volumes have been tracking historic seasonal trends as feedlots continue to pull fed cattle forward. Trade volumes were moderate last week, and sale volumes were limited with the bulk reported as $5-$8 per cwt. lower than the previous week in a $407-$410 per cwt. delivered trade range.
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Weighted average steer prices slid around $3 per cwt. lower than the previous week to $244.73 per cwt. Fed cattle exports to the United States for the week of June 17 were 11 percent larger than the previous week at 6,880 head and were down 17 percent from the same week last year.
Light early week Ontario trade has been reported $5 per cwt. lower than the previous week at $405 per cwt. delivered. Light trade to the U.S. was comparable with local sales at US$309 per cwt. delivered. There was no significant heifer trade.
U.S. trade was quiet most of last week before turning active on Friday. Southern prices were steady to $2 per cwt. lower than the previous week from $178-$180.75 per cwt. Slight early week trade at $178 per cwt. in Texas bumped up to $179 per cwt. by mid-week, but this largely passed by Friday. Most northern trade was at $182-$183 per cwt., $2-3 lower than the previous week. Dressed trade in the north was reported at $288-$290 per cwt. The five-area average last was $182.57 per cwt. live or $289.81 per cwt. dressed. National boner cows rallied $1.75 per cwt. higher to $105.89 per cwt.
Minor cow rally
After four weeks of softening, Alberta D2 cows rallied C$1 per cwt. last week to close at $153 per cwt. Alberta D3 cows eased $1.50 per cwt. from the previous week to close at $135.50 per cwt. Alberta rail grade cows have been corralled in a narrow $295-$300 per cwt. range for the last four weeks until coming up $3-$5 per cwt last week. Butcher bulls closed steady at $162 per cwt. Ontario D2 cows, at $136 per cwt., were $5 per cwt. softer and are down $13 per cwt. from their highs the first week of June. Current prices remain considerably stronger than last year.
Feeder volumes lighten
Auction volumes lightened last week across the Prairies. Alberta mid-weight steers were steady to $1 per cwt. higher than the previous week, steers 900 pounds and heavier were down $7 per cwt. Lightweight heifers were steady, mid-weight heifers were mixed and heavier heifers were softer. The Alberta 550 lb. steer-heifer price spread has narrowed $13 per cwt. since the end of May to $33 per cwt.. The Alberta 850 lb. steer-heifer spread has been stickier, narrowing only $3 per cwt. since the end of May to $27 per cwt..
In Ontario, choice feeders were reported steady with the previous week. Lower quality cattle were under pressure. Overall, light steers were steady. Steers 700-900 lb. were a significant $28-36 per cwt. softer.
Alberta 550 lb. steers jumped to a $27 per cwt. premium over Ontario in June, up $12 per cwt. from May. Alberta 850 lb. steers narrowed the gap to a small $2.50 per cwt. discount from Ontario, down from $7.50 per cwt. in May. Nearby feeder cattle futures rose almost $12 per cwt. since the previous week as corn continued to sell off.
Cutouts soften
Choice cutouts softened 1.9 percent to $328.05 per cwt. and Select cutouts softened 2.2 percent to $297.18 per cwt. Cutouts are well into descent from their mid-June peak, not surprising, given the five-year average has Choice cutouts near $240-$255 per cwt. and Select cutouts in the $220-$235 per cwt. neighbourhood for the last half of June. Over the last two weeks, the Choice-Select spread has been straddling the $30 per cwt. mark. Historically, the spread has been either side of $20 per cwt. Load counts totalled 509 on active mid-week trade.
