SASKATOON (Staff) – Canadian slaughter cattle prices last week regained ground lost in the previous 10 days, closing on Aug. 1 at $78.15-$78.35 per hundredweight for steers and $78.15-$79.05 for heifers.
Premium cattle were able to get even higher prices.
Canfax forecasted prices this week would hold steady to $1 higher.
The lack of strong price direction over the week was caused by slow beef movement with little American and packer interest on the one hand and on the other, tightening local supplies of finished cattle, Canfax said.
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However, with 15,400 head sold, volume surpassed the previous week by seven percent.
On the retail side, wholesale prices slipped to stimulate demand.
Montreal was down $2, to $158, while Calgary was down $2-$3, to $125-$131.
Canfax says the U.S. still has market-ready supplies to go through and recommends against holding back animals for “that absolute price rally.”
Meanwhile, average cow prices were $2 lower through the week, although good quality animals were still able to get prices steady with last week. D1 and D2 cows were $40-$50, with a high of $52.
Feeder trade
The feeder cattle trade saw pressure on lighter animals but heavier cattle lost little, if any.
Generally stronger prices last month brought more feeder cattle out with July volume up 83 percent over the same month last year and 22 percent more than June 1996. The last week of July saw volumes up four percent over the previous week.
Canfax forecasted prices to hold steady in the near term . But the potential for gains is limited by even higher feeder volume.
