Live cattle futures are showing gains of $2.27 to $2.70 so far at midday. Cash trade picked up to $220 Wednesday, firming $2 from Tuesday, with a few dressed sales of $345 in the north. The Thursday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed dressed sales of $340-341 on 80 of the 2,002 head offered and other bids of $220. Feeder cattle futures are trading with contracts $4 to $5.12 higher and August up $1.05 ahead of expiration. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down another $1.19 on August 25 to $334.27.
Export Sales data from USDA showed beef sales for 2026 at just 9,172 MT for the week ending on 8/20. That was a 6-week low. Shipments were tallied at 11,806 MT, which was also a 6-week low.
