Daily Cattle Report

Wednesday May 16, 2012

Slaughter Report Last updated May 16, 2012

Feeder Report Last updated May 16, 2012

Alberta Cattle Industry Market Report

Alberta direct cattle sales Tuesday saw no new trade to report. Business is likely to develop by this afternoon. Reduced showlist volume and firm technical levels remain encouraging. Fed values are anticipated mostly steady with last week.

Yesterday

Live

Rail

Steers

No trade

No trade

Heifers

No trade

No trade


In the cow and bull trade in Central Alberta on Tuesday:

D1, D2 cows

D3 cows

Bulls

75.00-85.00

69.00-74.00

85.00-96.00

US Trade

In the US, there is no new trade to report. Packer interest remains light with bids yet to surface. Asking prices are holding firm at 122.00-123.00 in the South and 195.00+ in the North. Trade is not anticipated to develop until Thursday or later.

Yesterday

Live

Rail

Choice Steers

No trade

No trade

Choice Heifers

No trade

No trade


National slaughter cows traded:

Boner Cows

Rail avg

Over 500 lbs

167.41

Canadian Dollar

The Canadian dollar at 8:30 this morning was trading at 99.28, down 0.28.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, in midsession trade live cattle futures are as follows:

June

August

October

116.80, +0.37

118.95, +0.22

124.05, +0.40

Replacement Trade

Information provided on this report is supplied by various auction markets throughout Alberta. In reference to the following prices, producers are reminded to check with individual markets on current prices and trends. Prices quoted include top quality cattle only.

Feeder and stocker prices in Central Alberta on Tuesday:

Steers

Heifers

900+

115.00-124.00

n/a

800-900

128.00-138.00

117.00-124.00

700-800

139.00-148.00

128.00-140.00

600-700

150.00-164.00

136.00-147.00

500-600

168.00-175.00

149.00-157.00

400-500

n/a

157.00-165.00

300-400

n/a

n/a


Bred Cows

Bred Heifers

Cow/Calf Pairs

n/a

n/a

1400.00-1740.00


All information sourced from Statistics Canada, Alberta Agriculture and Canfax

Canfax Weekly Article

Report for the week of May 14, 2012.

Technical price levels improved last week as the Canadian dollar retracted and cattle futures rebounded. Active trade was reported by Thursday afternoon, with the Canfax average steer and heifer prices closing the week above $110.00/cwt and $111.00/cwt respectively. Last week the majority of dressed sales were reported at $188.00/cwt delivered. Over the past couple of weeks Alberta/Saskatchewan showlist volumes have been inflated by large carry over volumes. Strong price levels improved selling interest, and accumulated sales volumes totaled 25,700 last week. Canadian fed exports to the US for the week ending April 28th totaled 9,292.

The feeder market continues to show signs of exhaustion as concerning break evens have stalled feeder prices. The Canfax average steer price was $0.28/cwt lower while heifers strengthened $0.41/cwt. 900+ steers and heifers are now at the lowest price level of this year. The Western Canadian calf index closed the week at $158.80/cwt, down $3.26 from the previous week. Large volumes of heifers have been reported selling through commercial auction facilities. Alberta auction volumes totaled 19,900. Canadian feeder exports to the US for the week ending April 28th totaled 3,699.

A moderate flush of calving culls were reported through auction last week. D1, D2 cows traded from $73.00-85.00/cwt, while D3 cows averaged $70.07/cwt, up $1.00 from the previous week. Butcher bulls traded fully steady with the previous week ranging from $80.00-104.00/cwt. Canadian non-fed exports to the US for the week ending April 28th totaled 3,450.

Bull factors

  • Next week showlist volumes should be relatively current

  • Alberta/Saskatchewan May 1 cattle on feed inventories are 7% lower than the same time last year

  • The North American non-fed market remains strong

Bear factors

  • Larger fed supplies in the Northern US could slow export demand

  • North American beef exports remain sluggish

  • Canadian carcass weights remain heavier than the same time last year

For more detailed information on markets this week please visit the Canfax website www.canfax.ca.

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