# U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle extend gains on drop in placements - Grainews

> U.S. cattle futures rose on May 25 after a USDA Cattle on Feed report showed placements in feedlots fell about 8% in April. August feeder cattle settled up to 144.925 cents per pound, with a weekly gain of more than 5%, the largest in that contract's history. Total cattle on feed was up about 5% from a year earlier.

- Date: 2018-05-25 · published 2018-05-25T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/11033-u-s-livestock-feeder-cattle-extend-gains-on-drop-in-placements-grainews
- Commodities: [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md), [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Lower placements suggest feedlots will need to buy cattle to fill pens, which supports feeder cattle prices even though total supplies remain large. Tighter available feeder supply is likely to keep prices firm.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FCATTLE | 2018-05-29 | 5 | +10.1% | 3.4 | May 25 Cattle on Feed showed April placements down about 8%, tightening feedlot supply and driving a record weekly gain of over 5% in August feeders, the core of the 5-day rally. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FCATTLE | 2023-03-30 | [Feed grain outlook lifts feeder cattle market - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5599-feed-grain-outlook-lifts-feeder-cattle-market-grainews.md) | +3.3% | +5.9% |
| FCATTLE | 2018-11-21 | [U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rally after bullish USDA data - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/62167-u-s-livestock-cattle-futures-rally-after-bullish-usda-data-grainews.md) | +0.6% | +0.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-01-27 | [Live & Feeder Cattle Futures Up, December Placements Down 5.38% \| Market Report - News and Statistics - IndexBox](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21198-live-and-feeder-cattle-futures-up-december-placements-down-5-38-market-report.md) | -0.1% | -0.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-02-02 | [Cattle in U.S. feedyards drop to 8-year low](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20742-cattle-in-u-s-feedyards-drop-to-8-year-low.md) | +2.0% | -0.8% |
| FCATTLE | 2018-10-12 | [U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on cut in beef production estimate - AgCanada](https://feedsoft.ai/events/62669-u-s-livestock-cattle-futures-rise-on-cut-in-beef-production-estimate-agcanada.md) | -0.9% | -4.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2018-09-28 | [U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs, cattle rise on month-end buying - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63192-u-s-livestock-cme-lean-hogs-cattle-rise-on-month-end-buying-grainews.md) | +0.2% | -0.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2018-11-21 | [U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rally after bullish USDA data - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/62167-u-s-livestock-cattle-futures-rally-after-bullish-usda-data-grainews.md) | +1.5% | +4.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-01-27 | [Live & Feeder Cattle Futures Up, December Placements Down 5.38% \| Market Report - News and Statistics - IndexBox](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21198-live-and-feeder-cattle-futures-up-december-placements-down-5-38-market-report.md) | +1.5% | +4.5% |

## Sources

- grainews.ca: https://www.grainews.ca/daily/u-s-livestock-feeder-cattle-extend-gains-on-drop-in-placements/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.