CHICAGO – The number of cattle that moved into U.S. feedlots fell for a second straight month in January, a government report showed on Friday, signaling a further tightening of beef and cattle supplies due in part to a devastating drought.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's cattle-on-feed report said placements fell 2 percent last month from a year ago, after dropping 6 percent in December, while supplies in feedlots were up 2 percent, the smallest increase in more than a year.
The data should support live cattle futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange next week, even though futures have been trending higher for weeks as meat packers scrambled to buy cash cattle for beef plants.
Retail beef prices through January have been setting record highs for five successive months. Expectations are for prices to continue higher this spring at a time as Americans gear up for outdoor grilling.
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