More better beef
Federally Inspected slaughter made a high-water mark for this year at 621,000, the largest harvest since the second week of December, and a 4.9% increase over the previous week. The increase came as packers paid a new record price for fed cattle at $130, after trading a small amount of cattle on Tuesday at steady money to the previous week ($128). However, the futures market showed a strong upside on Thursday posting contracts at $131 and forcing buyers to up their bids in order to secure needs.
Packers increased asking prices across all grades amid those soaring live-cattle prices. Beef buyers were resistant to increases and pushed back later in the week. CAB total cutout value was up slightly (1.3% vs. previous) on the strength of middle meats while end meats traded sideways.
CAB acceptance rates for the week of February 13 maintained the previous weeks’ level at 25%. However, the volume of A-stamped carcasses increased by 5%, thereby increasing the total accepted for the brand by more than 2,000 head at CAB® licensed packers.
Until we meat again,
-David
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