Big sales help fed cattle prices
SASKATOON (Staff) – Slaughter cattle prices took a $4 jump last week, driven by strong feedlot sales and aggressive bidding from Eastern Canadian and American buyers.
Canfax said trade on Aug. 7 saw slaughter steers priced between $85-$88.85 with tops to $89.50, while heifers traded between $87-$88.25.
Strong sales out of feedlots on the southern plains in the U.S. – notably Nebraska where more than 96,000 head were sold before the middle of the week (about 30,000 head more than the first week of August) – pushed prices past $70 (U.S.) per cwt. for the first time since the Chicago futures market crashed in May.
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Nebraska wasn’t the only state to show good numbers last week. Texas feedlots sold 94,000 head and 103,500 head traded in Kansas.
Analysts say feedlots are in a strong bargaining position after selling their entire showlists last week. Asking prices will likely be above that crucial $70 mark.
Active buying drove up feeder prices this past week. Canfax reports there are good numbers of grass cattle starting to move, as hot, dry weather in July may have spurred earlier-than-anticipated sales. Prices, so far, are par with those in 1993. Some 900-950-lb. steers traded between $1.09 and $1.11 per cwt.
Hog prices steady
Hog prices on the Prairies were steady to slightly lower during the first week of August, with deliveries down because of the four-day holiday week.
A bidding war among packers has sent Quebec hog prices into the $170 per ckg range, a whopping $20 premium to Ontario prices.
