Feeder Cattle Rally Shows Resilience While Live Cattle Consolidate

2025-12-26 06:04:56

Abstract generation in progress

Tuesday’s cattle market painted a mixed picture: live cattle futures maintained near-flat levels with declines capped at 25 cents, while the feeder segment continued its upward momentum with gains ranging from $2 to $3.10. This divergence reflects broader market dynamics between immediate slaughter cattle and young stock earmarked for feedlots.

Feeder Momentum Keeps Building

The feeder cattle complex led the charge, with the CME Feeder Cattle Index climbing 60 cents to settle at $347.37 on December 12. This reflects underlying strength in the replacement breeding stock market. Regional auction data underscored the bullish undertone: the Oklahoma City feeder cattle sale processed 8,258 head, with steer prices appreciating $4-8 from the prior week, while heifer quotations remained steady to up $3. Calf offerings showed pressure, declining $5-10 for steers and $10-20 for heifers.

Managed Money Rebalancing

Commitment of Traders positioning revealed significant institutional repositioning for the week ending November 25. Managed money investors trimmed 4,420 contracts from their net long exposure, reducing holdings to 92,911 contracts—the smallest position since October 2024. In the feeder cattle complex, speculative traders cut net long positions by 1,382 contracts, settling at 16,048 contracts.

Cash and Wholesale Dynamics

The cash cattle market demonstrated improved tone last week, with most locations anchored near $230. USDA wholesale boxed beef prices extended gains in Tuesday morning trading, narrowing the Choice-to-Select spread to $11.21. Choice boxes advanced 78 cents to $360.24, while Select jumped $1.73 higher to $349.03.

Federally inspected cattle slaughter was pegged at 110,000 head Monday—5,000 head below the prior Monday and 6,934 head shy of year-ago levels.

Contract Settlement Prices

Live Cattle:

Dec 25: $230.675 (-$0.150)
Feb 26: $230.325 (-$0.225)
Apr 26: $230.000 (-$0.025)

Feeder Cattle:

Jan 26: $343.025 (+$3.100)
Mar 26: $337.150 (+$2.300)
Apr 26: $335.800 (+$2.025)

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