National Steer Prices See Slight Decline
Steer prices across most weight classes saw a small dip over the past day, according to recent data from the National Beef Wire. Prices declined $2 to $12 per hundredweight, depending on the weight class.
The heaviest steers over 1,100 pounds held steady at $161.60, with no price change reported from January 23rd to January 24th. Steers in the 1,000 to 1,099 pound range saw a moderate increase of $6.39, climbing to $203.26.
However, steers in the most common weight classes between 700 to 999 pounds mostly saw declines. The 900 to 999 pound steers decreased $1.52 to $212.14, while 800 to 899 pound steers dropped $4.04 to $224.67. The prices for 700 to 799 pound and 600 to 699 pound steers also edged down $2.35 and $2.83 respectively.
On the lighter side of the spectrum, 500 to 599 pound steer prices ticked down by a marginal $0.86 and 400 to 499 pounds shed $6.67 off yesterday's prices. The lightest weight grouping from 300 to 400 pounds took the largest hit, with prices dropping $11.77 per hundredweight.
The Steer Tracker average for the commonly marketed 700-899 pounders declined $5.20 over the reported timeframe to land at $232.55. Similarly, the national Calf Tracker for younger 300-499 pound cattle fell $6.52 to an average of $319.84.
Overall, the national steer market continues to remain fairly strong, despite minor downward pressure seen over the most recent day. Industry analysts will be closely monitoring steer prices across weight classes in the days ahead. Significant and prolonged declines could signal growing supply pressures.