The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week last Friday at $227.31, which was $4.46 lower compared to the previous Friday, but still continues well over last year. Comparitively, on the same day last year, it was $206.36, which was about $3 lower from the previous week, showing that this is the time of the year when the cutout drops for a while after that Labor Day holiday price rally.
The Choice rib and loin steak products are always the main driving force for any grilling rally and they typically slip lower after the holiday. In fact, the weekly average Choice rib primal was $6 lower and the weekly average Choice loin primal was $4 lower. Yet both continue to be way above last year. The rib primal normally starts its fall rally soon which is for prime rib type items that are used during the company and family holiday parties between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This demand for prime rib has really helped to push the cutout value higher in the fall in recent years.
