# Light trading on US imported beef market | Meat & Livestock Australia

> US imported beef prices eased as trading volumes stayed light and US buyers held back ahead of summer. June fed cattle futures were priced about 13% below current levels after USDA's April cattle on feed report showed inventories up 7.4% year on year.

- Date: 2018-04-23 · published 2018-04-23T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/65453-light-trading-on-us-imported-beef-market-meat-and-livestock-australia
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Larger feedlot inventories and a discounted summer futures curve point to softer US cattle prices, weighing on feed demand for cattle rations.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bearish ▼
- LCATTLE: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2018-05-02 | 5 | -6.7% | -3.2 | June futures priced well below spot and COF inventories up 7.4% signaled expected supply pressure, with light imported beef demand. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2018-07-25 | [Cattle on feed underpinning US beef exports \| Meat & Livestock Australia](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63963-cattle-on-feed-underpinning-us-beef-exports-meat-and-livestock-australia.md) | -0.6% | -0.6% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-03-25 | [Livestock Outlook: March 2025 - Beef Web](https://feedsoft.ai/events/25521-livestock-outlook-march-2025-beef-web.md) | +0.3% | +1.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2019-01-08 | [Beef cattle market: 2018 in review and a look ahead \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61217-beef-cattle-market-2018-in-review-and-a-look-ahead-western-livestock-journal.md) | +1.4% | +1.6% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-05-23 | [LIVESTOCK-Feeder cattle futures dive as USDA releases cattle-on-feed data \| MarketScreener India](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5389-livestock-feeder-cattle-futures-dive-as-usda-releases-cattle-on-feed-data.md) | -0.7% | +0.7% |
| LCATTLE | 2016-12-13 | [US beef glut puts pressure on imports](https://feedsoft.ai/events/73414-us-beef-glut-puts-pressure-on-imports.md) | +1.6% | +6.5% |
| FCATTLE | 2018-07-25 | [Cattle on feed underpinning US beef exports \| Meat & Livestock Australia](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63963-cattle-on-feed-underpinning-us-beef-exports-meat-and-livestock-australia.md) | -2.2% | -2.3% |
| FCATTLE | 2019-01-08 | [Beef cattle market: 2018 in review and a look ahead \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61217-beef-cattle-market-2018-in-review-and-a-look-ahead-western-livestock-journal.md) | -0.8% | -1.5% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-05-23 | [LIVESTOCK-Feeder cattle futures dive as USDA releases cattle-on-feed data \| MarketScreener India](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5389-livestock-feeder-cattle-futures-dive-as-usda-releases-cattle-on-feed-data.md) | +0.5% | +5.2% |

## Sources

- mla.com.au: https://www.mla.com.au/prices-markets/market-news/2018/light-trading-on-us-imported-beef-market2/

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