Cattle prices up
Fed cattle prices averaged higher last week, but the biggest gains came mid-week when most trade occurred.
Sales by the close had eased off again as packers got what they needed.
Averages were up 80 cents per hundredweight on steers and $1.35 on heifers, Canfax said.
Volumes were considerably smaller reflecting the limited number of cattle that feedlots have for sale. Just under 13,000 head traded.
Most of this week’s action was from local plants.
Alberta prices Jan. 16 were steers $113.25-$115 per cwt., flat rail $188.25-$191.85. Heifer trade was limited at $111.25.
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Wholesale beef prices have been pushed significantly higher to keep in line with the strong cash cattle prices.
The Montreal wholesale is up $3-$5 per cwt. with steers at $190.
In Calgary, the handyweight steer wholesale price is up $6 to $180-$186.
Byproduct values also gained a bit as rendering prices crept up. Expect more strength in the hide market as North American kills are reduced.
Canfax said a stronger Canadian dollar may limit further significant fed price increases.
American prices rose by $2 US during the week, but the effect on the Canadian market was mitigated due to the stronger loonie.
Market-ready fed cattle supplies will remain historically small over the next few months, giving producers leverage in bargaining, Canfax said.
Feeder prices are up
Feeder prices were mostly stronger with steers up $1.25-$4.50 per cwt. and heifers up by a range of 25 cents to $5, with lighter heifers showing the biggest gain.
There were lower prices at some markets toward the end of the week, which should show up in this week’s averages, Canfax said.
Volumes at Alberta’s auction markets recovered from the slow holiday period.
Slaughter cow average price was 75 cents per cwt. lower at $56.25, but grain-fed cows sold as high as $62.
Canfax said the next few weeks will likely see pressure on some classes of feeder cattle.
The stronger fed cattle cash market will generally support feeder prices, but lower live cattle and feeder cattle futures last week will likely start to pressure the market.
In stock cow trade, bred cows traded from $600-$1,400 with most of the trade at $800-$1,150.
Bred heifers traded at $800-$1,400 with most at $900-$1,200. A few cow-calf pairs traded at $1,150-$1,400.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cattle on feed report released
Jan. 17 was described as fairly neutral.
The USDA estimates were close to the pre-report estimates of analysts.
The marketing number was expected to support prices. The pre-report guess was that the number marketed would be down by two percent from the year before while the USDA report showed marketings up one percent, Canfax said.
The placement number, up four percent over last year, was a little higher than expected.
Overall, the report had the Jan. 1, 2003, cattle on feed at 92 percent of last year, while the pre-report estimate for the total on feed was 92.7 percent.
Pork values steady
Hog prices along with wholesale prices for most pork cuts in the United States increased until mid-week, but the decline in ham and picnic prices reduced the pork cutout value slightly on Jan. 16.
Pork prices do not appear to have reacted yet to the significant rise in wholesale beef prices, Manitoba Agriculture said.
The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent, lean carcass converted to live weight) rose from $33.66 US per cwt. on Jan. 13 to $35.71 on Jan. 16.
On average, the week’s hog price was four to five percent higher.
The outlook for possible reduced packer demand this week, increasing stores of frozen pork and fear of excess U.S. chicken flooding supermarkets again this year, hurt livestock futures prices.
Traders were concerned Mexico will apply duties on imported U.S. pork.
Also worrying was whether Mexico would stop importing all U.S. chicken because of the Newcastle disease outbreak in California. Russian imports of American poultry are also expected to be down.
