US animal proteins were steady on Monday May 20, with limited trade reported and most testing the pre-holiday market.

US cattle slaughter and CME cattle futures
Fastmarkets’ research team forecasts cattle slaughter at 620,000 head in the week to May 25, lower by less than 1 percent from the same period in 2023.

Over the next six weeks, cattle slaughter is expected to average 618,330 head per week, lower by 0.84% year on year, according to Fastmarkets’ research team.

Cattle slaughter for the week to Saturday May 18 was at 598,000 head, according to the USDA’s Estimated Weekly Meat Production report, 6.60% lower than the corresponding week in 2023. Year-to-date cattle slaughter was at 11.991 million head, lower by 4.50% year on year.

Year-to-date cattle production was at 10.087 billion pounds, down by 2.10% from the same period in 2023.

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