CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Friday's U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly
inventory of cattle in the nation's largest feedlots confirmed expectations for
heavy summer slaughter-ready live cattle supplies, which caused lower cash
quotes late Friday and prompted opening Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle
futures price projections of, mostly, 40-60 points lower early Monday.
March placements came in near the high end of analysts' estimates, while
March marketings matched the lowest projection. The monthly inventory of cattle
in the nation's largest feedlots showed a fourth straight monthly record-high
April 1 cattle-on-feed figure for the current data series going back to 1996.
"I don't know how anxious people will be to sell at prices much more than 50
points below here, when futures are already trading a discount," said one
trader with cash connections.
On the export front, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to begin
the next phase of the drawn-out process of re-opening the Japanese beef market
by starting an audit next week of U.S. beef-producing plants seeking to export
to Japan, USDA officials said Friday.
The following estimates, as compiled by Dow Jones Newswires for the nation's
feedyards with a capacity of 1,000 or more head, are in percentages of the
year-earlier figure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture report was released
Friday afternoon.
USDA Average Range
of estimates of estimates
On-feed April 1 109.0 108.2 106.5-110.0
Placed in March 105.0 102.7 98.6-106.1
Marketed in March 100.0 101.3 100.0-104.0
Note: USDA rounds its estimates to the nearest whole number.
futuresource.com
inventory of cattle in the nation's largest feedlots confirmed expectations for
heavy summer slaughter-ready live cattle supplies, which caused lower cash
quotes late Friday and prompted opening Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle
futures price projections of, mostly, 40-60 points lower early Monday.
March placements came in near the high end of analysts' estimates, while
March marketings matched the lowest projection. The monthly inventory of cattle
in the nation's largest feedlots showed a fourth straight monthly record-high
April 1 cattle-on-feed figure for the current data series going back to 1996.
"I don't know how anxious people will be to sell at prices much more than 50
points below here, when futures are already trading a discount," said one
trader with cash connections.
On the export front, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to begin
the next phase of the drawn-out process of re-opening the Japanese beef market
by starting an audit next week of U.S. beef-producing plants seeking to export
to Japan, USDA officials said Friday.
The following estimates, as compiled by Dow Jones Newswires for the nation's
feedyards with a capacity of 1,000 or more head, are in percentages of the
year-earlier figure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture report was released
Friday afternoon.
USDA Average Range
of estimates of estimates
On-feed April 1 109.0 108.2 106.5-110.0
Placed in March 105.0 102.7 98.6-106.1
Marketed in March 100.0 101.3 100.0-104.0
Note: USDA rounds its estimates to the nearest whole number.
futuresource.com