Slaughter numbers down
SASKATOON (Staff) – On balance, slaughter cattle prices averaged $2 per hundredweight lower over the week, as just 14,000 head were sold in sideways trade throughout Alberta, Canfax reported. That number is down by about 35 percent from trade the first week of June. Feedlots, however, seem to be current with their marketings and weights are levelling off somewhat. Average carcass weight for steers so far this year is 739.1 lbs. Last week’s average was 737.2 lbs. Average carcass weight for steers in 1993 was 713.3 lbs.
Prices on June 9 saw steers fetching $79.75 to $82.60, while heifers traded between $79.50 and $81.50. Canfax said American buyers weren’t able to own many cattle but were active bidders against local packers.
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Fewer feeder cattle were on offer last week, but Canfax said there’s still aggressive bidding despite the crash in the fed market.
Meanwhile, prices at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange had a positive attitude adjustment last week – as is so often the case after a big sell-down – and cash fat cattle prices were steady at $65 (U.S.) per cwt.
Hogs mainly steady
Hog markets, meanwhile, were steady last week on uneven marketings: Saskatchewan was down from the previous week’s number, Manitoba the same and Alberta up slightly.
The weekly pool price in Saskatchewan was up 20 cents per hundred kilograms to $146.20 but the Saskatchewan price for sows took a nosedive, to $104. Manitoba’s price dropped by $2.40 to $148.06 for the week. Alberta’s price of $145.40 was up 70 cents per ckg for the week.
