Lower fed cattle prices for the second week in a row

Last week, cattle sold in Kansas and Texas at US$/cwt 224-5 live but some moved up to US$/cwt 226 Friday. In the north additional trades developed Friday moving from the bulk of sales Thursday at US$/cwt 230-2 to 233 Friday. Dressed sales ranged from US$/cwt 368 to 372. These prices were US$/cwt 3-4 lower for the second week in a row, The AG Center said.

Slaughter volume for the past week was 560,000 head compared to 560,000 the previous week and 610,000 last year. The large processing losses of the past few weeks continue to decline. Chances are good that the weekly slaughter from this point forward will trend closer to 550,000 than 600,000 on normal weeks as packers attempt to deal with red ink. This week will contain a holiday for the fourth of July and the slaughter will pare back to close to 500,000 head, The AG Center said.