Buckel Up for Another Wild Day in Livestock Markets
Outside markets rally back in the overnight and early morning trade. Will this translate to a risk-on relief rally in livestock?
Live Cattle (June)
June live cattle futures opened sharply lower but filled the gap early in the morning following a fake news report of a 90-day pause on tariffs. Once the White House called that out as fake news prices retreated back towards the lows. Outside markets are firm in the overnight and early morning trade, likely more of a relief rally than anything at this point in time. That may lead to a firm open in cattle, but our skepticism remains until we get an official statement regarding a tariff walk back or a watered-down version of what has been proposed.
Resistance: 203.25-204.20**, 206.92-207.30**
Pivot: 199.60-199.975
Support: 195.65-196.07***, 192.725-193.419***, 189.175-190.00****
Daily Cattle and Beef Summary
Cutout values were firm on Monday afternoon with choice cuts 1.05 higher to 339.50 and select cuts 2.12 higher to 319.30. The 5-area average price for live steers was reported at 211.14.
The CME feeder Cattle Index is at 290.00 with the NBW Real-Time Index showing 290.23 as of this morning.
Restaurant Performance Index
A majority of restaurant operators reported lower same-store sales and customer traffic in February, which was a sharp reversal from the more positive readings in January. Looking forward, restaurant operators are increasingly uncertain about sales growth and the economy in the coming months.
National Restaurant Association
Seasonal Tendency Update
(updated 4.7.25)
Below is a look at historical price averages for June futures on a 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 year time frames (Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results).
Commitment of Traders Update
Friday’s Commitment of Traders report showed Funds were net buyers of roughly 4.8k futures/options contracts, expanding their net long position to 142,777 futures and options contracts.
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