Live cattle futures closed the Wednesday session with contracts down $4.62 to $6. Cash trade saw some light action in the north on Wednesday at $239-240. The Wednesday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,646 head offered with bids at $238. Feeder cattle futures were $7.85 lower in the October contracts, with the rest of the board down the limit. Limits are expanded to $10.75 for live cattle and 13.75 for feeders on Thursday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back down 99 cents at $372.00 on October 21.
On Wednesday President Trump stated that cattle producers need to “get their prices down” in a Truth Social post that sent the market lower in a hurry. Reports also suggest he is looking to buy 4 times the normal quota of beef from Argentina (80,000 MT).
