Cattle Futures Post Strong Weekly Gains Amid Low Slaughter

Live cattle futures closed the Friday session with gains ranging from $1.75 to $2.85. The October contract ended the week $6.72 higher. Cash trade activity increased, with sales noted between $222 and $225. The Fed Cattle Exchange recorded $225 sales on 45 of the 952 head offered. Other lots received bids of $223 and $224.

Feeder cattle futures posted gains of $3.85 to $5.40 across all contracts. The September feeder cattle contract rose $13 for the week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index increased by $2.26 on September 10 to reach $331.22. Speculative traders reduced their net long positions in feeder cattle by 727 contracts. The net position stood at 6,781 contracts on Tuesday.

Supply Constraints Drive Price Strength

USDA estimated weekly federally inspected cattle slaughter at 505,000 head. This figure was well below the same non-holiday week last year. It was also 21,000 head lower than the previous week. Managed money trimmed 664 contracts from their net long in live cattle. The net long position in live cattle reached 47,250 contracts. These data points were reported by GN markets/commodities (en-US).

Export Volumes Hit Multi-Week Lows

Beef export sales for 2026 totaled 8,581 metric tons for the week ending September 3. This volume represented an eight-week low. Beef shipments were tallied at 11,521 metric tons. This shipment figure marked a four-week low. Lower export volumes suggest tighter domestic supply availability.

Wholesale Prices Show Mixed Signals

Wholesale boxed beef prices were mixed in the Friday afternoon report. The spread between Choice and Select widened to $22.81. Choice boxes fell by $2.43 to close at $375.94. Select boxes rose by $1.07 to close at $353.13. The October live cattle contract closed at $219.675. The February 2027 live cattle contract closed at $224.000.