Boxed beef prices continued their slide on Friday, down for the fourth time in the last five days and the eighth time in the last nine. Since last Friday, the Choice cutout has declined by $5.62, while the Select cutout is down $10.28 since November 21. On Friday, Choice fell $1.52 to $361.20 and Select dropped $2.93 to $347.39, putting the Choice/Select spread at $13.81 with 152 loads reported.
In the primals, the Rib was steady at $639.70, virtually unchanged from Thursday. The Chuck increased from $287.44 to $289.57, and the Brisket also moved slightly higher from $324.94 to $326.47. However, the Loin fell from $470.80 to $464.08, and the Plate dropped from $246.12 to $238.30. The Round eased slightly from $291.49 to $290.71, and the Flank declined from $177.94 to $175.37.
