Feedlots Bought Fewer Cattle in December Compared With 2011
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U.S. feedlots bought 0.5 percent fewer cattle in December compared with a year earlier, the government said, surprising analysts who were expecting an increase.
Feedlots bought 1.664 million head of cattle last month, down from 1.673 million in December 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in a report. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News was a 2.9 percent increase. The feedlot herd totaled 11.193 million as of Jan. 1, 5.6 percent less from a year earlier. Analysts expected the inventory to be down 4.6 percent.