Cattle prices steady
SASKATOON (Staff) – In a week-by-week comparison, cattle prices for the second week of February didn’t change much.
Canfax quoted steers at $90.55-$94.75 per hundredweight, while heifers were at $89.70-$94.35 on Feb. 9.
Fewer cattle were on offer, Canfax said, mostly because feeders thought the recent trend to lower prices was “overdone.” Consequently, packers were fairly brisk bidders for about five percent fewer cattle. Canfax said quality of fed cattle on offer is uneven at best.
U.S. packers paid little attention to the Canadian market last week, since their own cash market was topsy-turvy. Prices on the Southern Plains started out the week drastically lower – down to $70 (U.S.) per cwt. – but by the end of the week forecasts of colder weather had feedlots holding out for $74.
D1 and D2 cows were priced between $52-$62, with a top of $63. Railgrade bids ranged from $108-$113 per cwt.
