Canfax Weekly Article | Report for the week of June 15, 2026

After trending higher over the past five months, fed prices seem to have leveled off. Western Canadian fed prices continued to trade on either side of $350/cwt, hovering near record highs. From a seasonal perspective, leverage continued to favour the cattle feeder. On the flip side, packers continued to manage seasonally tighter numbers by scaling back slaughter rates. Last week, buying interest was noted from all Western Canadian packers, but competition was somewhat limited. Dressed sales were steady to $5/cwt lower. Last week, most of the cattle that were marketed were fed calves but there were some yearlings in the mix.

Last week, Alberta steer prices were $6/cwt stronger than the previous week with heifers up $1/cwt. May auction volumes were down 6 per cent from last year and down 12 per cent from the five-year average. In May, Alberta 550 pound steer calves were at a C$33/cwt premium to the U.S. market and a $22/cwt premium to Ontario. Alberta 850 pound feeder steers were at a C$18/cwt premium to the U.S. but were at a $9/cwt discount to Ontario. Forward delivery sales of 5–599 pound steers for the fall were at a slight premium to last week’s cash price. Feeder exports to the U.S. have been above year-ago levels for the past eight weeks.

The Alberta non-fed market was mixed last week, though most classes were within $2/cwt of steady money. Cow slaughter for the week ending June 6th was the smallest weekly volume of the year. In April, Western Canadian non-fed exports were up nearly 50 per cent from last year. YTD, Western Canadian non-fed exports are up just shy of 25 per cent.

Bull

• The Canadian dollar declined for the sixth consecutive week, supporting the export market
• The Alberta calf market continued to be the premium North American market
• Choice ribs have moved higher for the past four weeks, supporting the cutout

Bear

• Muddy conditions impacted grading performance and carcass weights last week
• Cattle on feed numbers were well above a year ago. There may be price and basis risk in the third and fourth quarters
• Packers have been managing seasonally tight numbers by reducing hours