Cattle futures chop around at the end of last week’s trade. Here are the levels to watch in today’s trade.
Live Cattle (December)
December live cattle were higher on Friday, but it wasn’t enough to change the technical landscape. We will be keeping a close eye on our pivot pocket from 187.67-188.00 to start the week. A failure to hold ground above here keeps the downside risk open. A break and close below support from 186.07-186.40 could trigger long liquidation which could accelerate the selling pressure. With that said, we would see 184.225-184.55 as a buying opportunity on the first test.
Resistance: 189.47-190.075, 191.47-191.62
Pivot: 187.675-188.00
Support: 186.075-186.40, 184.225-184.55
Daily Cattle and Beef Summary
Cutout values were firm again on Friday with choice cuts 1.39 higher to 320.65 and select .68 higher to 294.20. The 5-area average price for live steers was reported at 187.53 which we’d call steady to firm. Friday’s slaughter was reported at 106k head, in line with the previous week but about 11k less than last year. Week to date slaughter came in at 594k, that’s 14k more than the previous week but 25k less than the same period last year.
Commitment of Traders Update
Friday’s Commitment of Traders report showed funds were net buyers of over 10k contracts through October 15th, expanding their net long to 88,301. That is the largest net long position since October 3, 2023.
Feeder Cattle (November)
November feeder cattle were able to firm in Friday’s trade, but it did little to alleviate the caution we see on the chart. Our pivot pocket from 246.82-247.60 will be an important area to keep an eye on through this week’s trade. A failure here could trigger additional pressure. A break below last week’s lows and we could see further selling down to 242.75-243.77.
Resistance: 249.85-250.80, 253.075-253.90
Pivot: 246.82-247.60
Support: 244.92*, 242.75-243.77, 239.62-240.15
Commitment of Traders Update
Friday’s Commitment of Traders report showed funds were net buyers of about 2.2k contracts, the fifth straight week of net buying. The net long position for Funds stands at 7,657, the largest net long since April.
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