Futures, wholesale prices skyrocket

Cattle futures extended a surge to a record and wholesale beef jumped to a 13-month high after a weekend blizzard hammered the Midwest. According to The Daily Livestock Report for May 3, June fed cattle futures contract closed Tuesday at $127.05/cwt., $17 (+15 percent) higher than where it was priced about a month ago. Much of those gains have been realized in the last few days as packers struggle to maintain slaughter schedules in light of extremely current feedlot inventories. Extreme weather events in cattle country in recent days further compounded the issue and they are expected to cause short term disruptions and further impact cattle weights. CME Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher Tuesday on fund buying, short-covering and solid beef demand that briefly lifted the June contract to its 3.000-cent daily price limit, said traders. They said profit-taking and caution before this week’s cash prices pulled futures from new contract highs. Read more at Reuters…