Fed cattle up; 25.2% CAB boosts supply
Here’s the Meat Market Minute:
Live cattle traded even to slightly lower last week after the previous week’s surprising $5 rally. Packers have continued to run reduced hours to manage margins, but feeders reduced show lists by 22,000 head in an effort to push values. It worked for the feeders, but that jump was still surprising given that the reduced packing hours had been able to hold live cattle values down for four weeks coming into February..
Boxed beef prices were up across all grades in reaction to those higher live cattle costs. Packers moved the values up sharply to begin on Monday and then leveled off the remainder of the week. CAB middle meats were a significant driver to the cutout as ribs and loins were up 3.7% and 5.7%, respectively.
CAB acceptance rates continue to increase, posting yet another rise, week over week. In fact, certification rates have been steadily improving since the first of the year to reach 25.2%. Just in one week, the jump accounted for an additional 5,000 head compared to the week before.
Until we meat again,
-David
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