Cattle Look to Square Up Ahead of USDA Report
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AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA Stocks Cattle Look to Square Up Ahead of USDA Report December 19, 2025 — 10:19 am EST Written by Austin Schroeder for Barchart-> Live cattle futures were down 97 cents to $1.90 on Thursday. Preliminary open interest was up 1,151 contracts. There were 20 deliveries retendered at 1 cent on Thursday. Cash trade got kicked off on Thursday, with a few early sales at $228 across the country and dressed sales have been $356-358.
The Thursday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,708 head listed and bids of $225-226.50 live and $350.50 dressed. Feeder cattle futures were down $1.25 to $1.90 at the Thursday close. = The CME feeder cattle index from December 17 was up 26 cents from the day prior at $350.05.Weekly Export Sales data showed just 1,908 MT of beef sold for 2025 delivery in the week ending on 11/27, with 12,087 MT for 2026. Export shipments were 10,869 MT during that week, a 3-week low. Don’t Miss a Day: From crude oil to coffee, sign up free for Barchart’s best-in-class commodity analysis.
The December Cattle on Feed report will be released this afternoon, with traders looking for November placements to be down 8% from last year and marketings with a 11.3% drop. December 1 on feed is expected to be 1.6% below last year.USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in the Thursday afternoon report, with the Chc/Sel spread widening to $13.31. Choice boxes were up $1.19 to $357.28, while Select was $2.46 lower at $343.97. USDA federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 123,000 head on Thursday, with the weekly total at 472,000 head. That was 12,000 head below last week and 11,643 head shy of the same week last year.Dec 25 Live Cattle closed at $228.425, down $1.875,Feb 26 Live Cattle closed at $228.400, down $1.150, Apr 26 Live Cattle closed at $228.150, down $0.975,Jan 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $340.275, down $1.250,Mar 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $334.600, down $1.725,Apr 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $333.175, down $1.850, On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here. More news from Barchart Cattle Prices Are Climbing Higher. Here’s 1 Way to Trade the Trend. Here Are the Levels to Watch as Cattle Prices Keep Moving Higher Cattle and Hog Prices Have Bottomed Out.
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How Much Higher Can Cattle Prices Go from Here? The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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