Prices take a dive
SASKATOON (Staff) – The grim news in the fat cattle market got worse last week.
With the Canadian dollar at one-year highs, lots of feeder steers finishing above 1,325 pounds, a short holiday week and limited beef demand, even with the last long weekend of the summer, prices suffered.
Prices started out the week steady, but by midweek were pressured lower by $1 to $1.50 per hundredweight. Averages ended the week lower by $3 per cwt., Canfax said.
Other noticeable trends in the fed cattle market include fat discounts for heavyweight steers over 1,325 lbs., which is triggering a premium of up to $2 per cwt. for feeder heifers.
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Trade on Aug. 31 saw steers priced between $72.35-$74.35 per cwt. while heifers were $75-$76.
Cow prices continued to slip, with average prices this week between $0.75 and $1.25 per cwt. lower. Canfax said a sluggish fed market and narrowing packer margins are keeping cow prices from improving. The price outlook with the fall cow run near is weak.
D1 and D2 cows were priced between $44 and $53, with top bids to $55 per cwt. Railgrade bids were between $90-$95.25.
Calf prices didn’t escape the gloom of the fed market. With more on offer and the yearling run in full swing, Canfax said prices were about $5 per cwt. lower by Sept. 1.
Compared to a year ago, the yearling market is down by $25 per cwt., while calves so far down by $30, Canfax said.
A few bred cows sales had prices between $650-900 per head, while bred heifers were $750-$1,000.
