Cattle on Feed Report                  05/17 14:05

Placements a Bit Bearish
Larger-than-expected placements in April could prove to be 
bearish when futures trade reopens.

By John Harrington
DTN Livestock Analyst

                    USDA     Average
                   Actual     Guess        Range
Cattle On Feed:
On Feed May 1       97.0%     96.5%    95.0-98.0%
Placed in April    115.0%     112.0%   105.0-122.0%
Marketed in April  102.0%     103.0%   100.0-104.0%

The May 1 Cattle on Feed report looks a  bit negative, 
especially in terms of larger-than-expected placement activity 
in April. Placement activity in Nebraska and Kansas proved 
especially active, up 22% and 17%, respectively. While such 
placement has negative implications for late-summer fed market, 
pre-existing discounts in deferred live futures may take some of 
the sting out of the news. The marketing total also proved to be 
a bit disappointing, especially given the fact that last month 
contained one additional business day since April of 2012. 
Normally we would expect such totals to trigger selling when 
trade resumes on Monday. Yet, the trade reaction could be 
relatively mild given the fact that live futures are already in 
the hole so deeply vs. spot cash.