Trading was active following the weekend with steers trading steady to last traded levels and branded heifers trading $1 lower. Chinese tanner are very active in the market, buying volume due to lower freight rates, attractive prices, and better-quality hides.
Macroeconomic issues continue to weigh on the consumer demand. Inflation remains tracking around 4.05% which forced consumers to be more stringent regarding spending.

Cattle Slaughter Forecast

Cattle slaughter is forecast by The Jacobsen at 645,00 head this week, down 0.62% from last week and up 0.67% from last year. Cattle slaughter finished last week at an estimated 649,000 head, up 2.37% from the week prior and down 2.35% from last year. Over the next six weeks, slaughter is forecasted at an average of 631,670 head per week, down 2.29% from the same time period in 2022 and down 0.39% from 2021.

Figure 1.

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