Imported US Beef Prices Turn Down
AUSTRALIA - Imported beef prices in the US remained steady, although reports indicate that values moved lower in the past couple of days, as US domestic beef values slid.
1 August 2008
1 minute read
There is an expectation from some traders that the market could start to see a correction in lean manufacturing beef prices, given the rate of advance in prices during July and the increased availability of domestic product.
The high cow prices and rising farm input costs has seen higher slaughter of US domestic cows and bulls recently. Cow slaughter for July has been 16% above the same time last year, at 328,453 head.
With higher supplies from the US domestic market and demand becoming seasonally weaker, bearish reports indicate that the market will be unwilling to support lean beef prices at current levels. On a bullish note, the tight imported beef supplies, competition from other markets and strong demand for lower valued beef products could still support imported high beef prices. This could be particularly so if US domestic cow and bull production eases and fails to fill the needs of the manufacturing beef sector.
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