Aug futures rallied triple digits on Tuesday to $104.65, which is about $1.65 above the cash prices from last week. So far this week cash sales have been light. USDA confirmed sales in KS and WCB at $103 and $103-$105 respectively. Northern dressed bids were $163-$165 with no sales confirmed yet. The front month cattle futures closed $0.47 to $1.15 higher on the day. Feeder cattle futures also rallied triple digits on Tuesday with gains of as much as 0.84%. The CME Feeder Cattle index was back down by 28 cents to $142.33. The FCE online cattle auction has 890 head listed so far for tomorrow’s sale. Wholesale boxed beef prices were higher on Tuesday, tightening the Chc/Sel spread to $13.06. Choice boxes were up 88 cents to $208.08 cwt. while Select boxes strengthened by $1.09. It is still a little early for Labor Day buying (4 weeks out) but it is coming. USDA’s estimate for Tuesday’s cattle slaughter was 117,000 head. WTD slaughter under federal inspection is at 230,000 head after a Monday revision lower. With 230,000 head killed through Tuesday, the week’s pace is 1,000 head above last week, but trailing the same week last year by 2,000 head.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management