# Pete's Comments: April Fools’ Day | Western Livestock Journal

> Live cattle futures sold off on April 1 after HPAI was found in dairy cows in Texas and a dairy worker became the second known human case in the U.S. Traders pulled back, and the April contract fell toward $180 while the weighted average cash price had reached $188.10. The author argues that the selloff was driven by fear rather than fundamentals.

- Date: 2024-04-05 · published 2024-04-05T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: disease · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/6737-pete-s-comments-april-fools-day-western-livestock-journal
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

The selloff lowered cattle futures and gave packers cheaper cattle, which pressures livestock feed demand and prices. Analysts see little food-chain exposure, so prices could recover if fear fades.

## Read by commodity

- LCATTLE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2020-03-02 | [Markets fall apart on virus fear \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5308-markets-fall-apart-on-virus-fear-western-livestock-journal.md) | -5.1% | -9.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-05-15 | [The divergence in beef marketing margins \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53256-the-divergence-in-beef-marketing-margins-western-livestock-journal.md) | +6.2% | +5.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-05-03 | [Bovine flu still adding pressure in the marketplace \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5413-bovine-flu-still-adding-pressure-in-the-marketplace-western-livestock-journal.md) | +0.2% | +3.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-04-05 | [HPAI uncertainty leads to major futures selloff \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6735-hpai-uncertainty-leads-to-major-futures-selloff-western-livestock-journal.md) | -1.0% | -2.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-04-07 | [Downturn hits livestock markets \| News \| wyomingnews.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7268-downturn-hits-livestock-markets-news-wyomingnews-com.md) | +2.8% | -4.3% |

## Sources

- wlj.net: https://www.wlj.net/petes-comments-april-fools-day/

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