Front month fat cattle closed the midweek session with gains of $0.92 to $1.27. The feeder cattle futures were $0.55 to $1.30 higher on the day. Cash trade remains light for the week, with USDA confirming $184-$186 for the WCB in the few confirmed trades. The CME Feeder Cattle Index increased 55 cents to $253.42 on 9/19.
Analysts surveyed expect the monthly NASS report to have a 2.3% lower inventory of ~11.023m head. The full range of estimates for Sep 1 is from -3.1% to -1% from Sep ’22. Placements are expected to be 6.7% lower yr/yr on average. The average estimate for marketings is to be 94.7% of LY.
