Latest read →73CL fresh printed 340¢/lb after a 54¢/lb single-session jump, but that move wants scrutiny. Beef loads ran 30% below the five-year norm at last close, so the firming cutout and the trim spike are both sitting on thin volume. The lean complex is genuinely tight on a supply basis, with the forward kill pipeline 9.7% under year-ago, but a one-day print that large on light loads doesn't confirm a new floor. Select firmed $2.60/cwt on the session, narrowing the Choice-Select gap slightly. Chuck short rib added 19¢/lb on the day and seasonal history adds another 13¢/lb over the next four weeks, which makes it the more durable read right now. Weekly Cold Storage Holdings drop tomorrow morning and will tell you how much frozen buffer is actually left behind the grind bid.
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Meat Read publishes one of these every trading day, free, after the USDA afternoon close. Beef and pork wholesale, what moved and what it means for a buyer.