Wide Range of Guesses on June Placements Ahead of Friday’s July 1 Cattle on Feed Report
Once again, the most-watched data point in Friday's July 1 USDA Cattle on Feed report will be placements.
OMAHA (DTN) — Once again, the big-hitting data point in Friday’s July 1 USDA Cattle on Feed report will be placements, given that last month’s placements were up 4%.
If last month’s data is accurate, then we should see a reduction in the June placement data. But given that analysts’ pre-report estimates fall anywhere from 89.9% to 100.7% compared to a year ago, Friday’s data could be a wild card.
As the market trudges through the dog days of summer, seeing greater on-feed numbers is never settling. But given that packers have reduced slaughter speeds to hold up the cash market, it is likely that Friday’s on-feed figure could be steady to somewhat higher.
**
USDA will release its July 1 Cattle on Feed report at 2 p.m. CDT on Friday.
| USDA Actual | Average Estimate | Range | |
| On Feed July 1 | 101.0% | 100.1-101.7% | |
| Placed in June | 96.4% | 89.9-100.7% | |
| Marketed in June | 91.5% | 90.0-94.5% |
ShayLe Stewart can be reached at ShayLe.Stewart@dtn.com