The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week on Friday, May 15 at $434.32 which was $26.56 lower compared to the previous Friday. However, let's put it in perspective: The cutout has climbed $221 over the previous three weeks, so a $25+ decline still equates to a very high price. Last year it was $220.31 for the same Friday. Throughout the week it did continue to drop lower and was $409.47 on Tuesday, May 19. This will push the weekly average Choice cutout lower in the upcoming weeks.

The weekly average Choice cutout, which includes all types of sales including the daily Choice cutout, was $423.23 which was $26.23 higher even though the daily Choice cutout was $26 lower. The main reason for that was because the formula sales, which represented 57% of the total sales, were higher because many, but not all, were priced off of the previous week’s dramatically higher daily spot prices. This is why the weekly average follows the daily cutout more slowly.