Ongoing tug-of-war between futures and cash prices

The battle for primacy between futures and cash prices has been ongoing all of this year and won’t end soon. The sustainability of margins in the processing, cattle feeding and stocker operations will be at risk until the herd rebuilds and that is not a quick fix. Cattle owners will continue to hold tight supplies giving them leverage for higher prices.

Last week cash prices, just to prove they were not dictated by futures, moved US$/cwt 1 higher in the north and south. Sales in the north reached US/cwt 229-230. Dressed trades occurred at US$/cwt 358-360 steady with the previous week. In the south live sales were mainly US$/cwt 219-220 with over the tops several dollars higher, The AG Center said.