February live cattle (LEG26) on Friday rose $2.525 to $234.90 and for the week were up $2.75. March feeders (GFH26) gained $0.90 to $360.175 and for the week rose $3.725. Friday’s technically bullish weekly high closes in February live cattle and March feeders set the table for some follow-through chart-based buying early this week.
It appears cattle traders were expecting Friday afternoon’s monthly USDA cattle-on-feed (COF) report to lean price-friendly, which it did.
The agency reported that cattle and calves on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.5 million head on Jan. 1. The inventory was 3% below Jan. 1, 2025. The inventory included 7.02 million steers and steer calves, down 3% from the previous year. This group accounted for 61% of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.44 million head, down 3% from 2025. Placements in feedlots during December totaled 1.55 million head, 5% below 2024. Net placements were 1.50 million head.
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Placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 365,000 head
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600-699 pounds were 360,000 head
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700-799 pounds were 355,000 head
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800-899 pounds were 274,000 head
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900-999 pounds were 115,000 head
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1,000 pounds and greater were 85,000 head
Marketings of fed cattle during December totaled 1.77 million head, 2% above 2024. Other disappearance totaled 58,000 head during December, 2% below 2024.
Still-very-quiet cash cattle trading late last week saw the USDA report on Friday steers averaging $231.93 and heifers averaging $232.23. Those numbers compare to the prior week’s average cash cattle trade reported by USDA at $232.50.
Retailers continue to anticipate good consumer demand for beef at the meat counter in the coming months, despite still historically high retail beef prices. Consumer confidence remains generally upbeat as recent U.S. economic data does not signal any serious trouble, while the Federal Reserve is likely to lower interest rates this year.
The New World Screwworm threat is again in focus and now leans price- bearish, fundamentally, due to the uncertainty of the matter and its potential impact on consumer psychology.
