Brett Wessler  |   January 4, 2012

A survey of cattle-industry leaders suggests the average price for cash cattle will decrease by 55 cents settling at $121.11 per cwt this week as the cash market is expected to decline for the second consecutive week.

The Monday Market Sentiment is a forecast of the upcoming weekly cash trade (5-Area weighted average price) prices reported by the USDA. Cash cattle traded $2.94 lower at $121.66 per cwt in the last week of 2011. Cash prices are above last year’s levels which finished 2012 at $106.96 per hundredweight.

Cash bids are not expected to be active until late Wednesday or Thursday as packers have sufficient supplies for processing this week. Moderate weather and strong wholesale beef prices have helped cattle futures but analysts wonder if futures will decline as show lists are likely to expand this week.

Each week the Cattle Trader Center, on behalf of Vance Publishing, awards a $100 gift certificate from Cabela's to the industry leader whose forecast comes closest to the 5-Area cash trade number reported by the USDA. The most recent winner was Joe Kovanda, Bartlett Cattle.