Live cattle futures saw $7.25 limit losses across most contracts on Monday, with $10.25 expanded limits set for Tuesday. There was some light cash trade picked up on Monday at $208 by the USDA in the Western Corn Belt. Last week’s cash trade was $215-219 in the North, with $220-224 in the South. Feeder cattle futures closed Monday down the $9.25 limit across the board, with expanded limits of $13.25 for Tuesday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down $3.34 to $336.38 on November 21. The weekly OKC feeder cattle auction had an estimated 3,302 head for sale, with feeders down $10-20 and calves down $20-40 early.
Late on Friday, Tyson announced that it is planning to close its 5,000 head per day Lexington, NE plant and shift its Amarillo, TX plant to a single full capacity shift. The shutdown isn’t expected until January 20, which limits the immediate impact (i.e. the December and February contracts), but longs want out.
