Through the spring of 2018, we have talked about several common themes for the cattle markets that impact the fundamentals of this market. Even though Live Cattle futures finished up over $2 on Friday, the trade has been quite choppy, which gives traders little confidence that we are headed higher from here. Here is a… Read more »
Category: Beef Market Update
Beef Market Update – Strong beef demand, lower carcass weights, and the wall
It has been a busy week in the cattle markets, as Canada and the United States are on the brink of a trade war that we would not have imagined a year ago. Much of that is out of the control of feedyard owners and ranchers, but the impacts will most certainly be felt, depending… Read more »
Beef Market Update: “Frustrating” prices heading into grilling season
Live cattle led the futures market lower this past week, with cash prices in tow, thanks to large supplies hitting the market. Cash cattle values in Canada fell by ten to 12 dollars, while U.S. prices were five to six dollars lower on the week. What’s frustrating for beef producers is demand and retail prices… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Record basis levels set to change
The beef markets are riding an unusually high basis in both Canada and the United States, but that’s set to change. “So over the next eight weeks — between now and when June goes off — we will see the two converge,” says Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko, adding that in 2015 basis was +20 when… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Strong basis prompts cattle feeders to remain current
A strong basis in Canada and the U.S. is prompting cattle feeders to sell sooner than later, and at lower weights. “When you pick up cattle prices in the South Plains $3-5 from last week — 121/122 — and the futures dropped as we’ve seen, you continue to get this widening spread,” says Anne Wasko of… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Trade news and cold weather keeping folks up at night
Whether we’re talking calving or barbecuing, it’s not ideal when temperatures are 20 degrees below their seasonal normal. The delayed onset of spring is not doing ranchers any favours, with calves hitting the ground in difficult conditions this spring (if we can call it that). At the same time, with large cattle supplies hitting the… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Free fallin’, calving, and market clear-outs
As a snowstorm bears down on the prairies just in time for spring calving, the cattle markets continue their slide downwards, and futures markets try to figure out how low they have to go to clear additional product in the value chain. That’s where we start this week’s discussion from Beef Market Update analyst Anne… Read more »
Beef Market Update: StatsCan confirms Canada isn’t following U.S. herd expansion
Statistics Canada has confirmed once again that Canadian cattle producers are not following their American counterparts in expanding the beef herd. The federal agency published its January 1, 2018, inventory report this week, and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, walks us through the numbers in this Beef Market Update. First of all, for the not-so-analytical… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Riding spring highs into March
Cattle markets have remained strong, although we saw a technical correction lower on the futures market this week. “Maybe we’re getting a little numb to it, but futures markets continue to be extremely explosive whenever they tend to move. Up until this week, the market’s been building to recent highs, but futures markets, led by… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Tight supply, strong basis inspire northward migration of feeder cattle
Though you may not be able to tell from the last week of quiet trading, it’s been a busy month for the cattle markets. On January 31, the United States Department of Agriculture released its cattle inventory report for January 1, showing a one percent increase in all cattle and calves in the U.S. compared to… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Holding on to a strong basis
The Bank of Canada raised the overnight rate target to 1.25 percent this week, with a cautionary note that touched on the uncertainty around the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The announcement caused brief volatility in the Canadian dollar, but will this change, or the one or two other hikes expected by economists affect cattle… Read more »
Beef Market Update: A strong start to 2018
Cattle markets are kicking off 2018 like it’s 2017, with strong prices and a strong basis in Western Canada, in spite of a higher Canadian dollar. Factoring the jump in the Alberta fat cattle market last week to around C$167, the loonie rising over 80 cents, and a U.S. price of around $123, the spot… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Impressive exports and a sense of settling down
While much of the focus on beef has been on international negotiations, Gateway LIvestock’s Anne Wasko brings the numbers a little closer to home, in the Beef Market Update with host Shaun Haney. The United States saw great numbers for October exports, says Wasko, with “beef was up 13 percent from a year ago, pork… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Can demand keep firing on all cylinders?
Cattle markets have dropped off their highs from a few weeks ago, but they’re still well ahead of where they were last year at this time. The February live cattle contract, for example, is up 28 percent in the last year. “We’ve had solid markets all the way around,” says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Setting up a sellers’ market
Live cattle futures have found reasons to rally since early September, even in the face of large placements in a bearish cattle on feed report last week. It’s a combination of market fundamentals — profitable margins, lower carcass weights, and strong demand — driving the market out of the lows set around Labour Day, says… Read more »