U.S. Cattle Inventories Rise Through October, USDA Says

By Kirk Maltais

The Agriculture Department said U.S. cattle inventories on feed for the month ended Nov. 1 rose, roughly what was expected by analysts.

Total supplies of cattle on feedlots were 11.93 million head, which is 1.7% higher than this time a year ago, the USDA said in its monthly Cattle on Feed Report. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal prior to the report expected the inventories to rise 2.1% versus this time last year.

Placements of cattle on feed rose less than forecast by analysts, with USDA reporting 2.16 million head through Nov. 1, which is 3.8% higher than this time last year. The uptick is less than expected by analysts, who were forecasting a 7% jump in placements.

The USDA reported fed cattle marketed for the month ended Nov. 1 totaled 1.76 million head, which is down 2.6% from last year's total. This is a little more than forecast by analysts, who were calling for a 1.9% drop in marketings.

The most-active cattle contract trading on the CME closed Friday's trading session up 0.8% to $1.7655 a pound. Lean hog futures finished down 0.6% at 71.025 cents a pound.

To see related data, search "USDA Monthly Cattle on Feed Data" in Dow Jones NewsPlus.

Write to Kirk Maltais at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-17-23 1534ET