Cattle futures continued their rebound this week amid stronger signals from the cash market. February live cattle traded as high as $226.75 on Friday, reaching the highest in more than two weeks. Prices reversed some of their gains as buying slowed.

January feeder cattle traded more than $2 higher on Friday to $340 per cwt before giving back half of those gains. Prices could face resistance around $340, which is the bottom of a gap established by the October selloff.

Cash cattle markets rose sharply this week, with the USDA fed cattle index rising to $217 per cwt, about $10 higher than last week. Additionally, trade in the North reported prices as high as $220.

Cash feeder cattle have also performed well this week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index jumped to $341.80, more than $20 higher than last Friday. Feeder steers weighing 400-700 pounds at the Mitchell livestock auction in South Dakota sold for $11-$30 higher than a week ago.

The USDA confirmed another detection of New World Screwworm in Mexico, about 120 miles south of the U.S. border. The parasite was discovered in a two-year-old bovine that was transported from Veracruz to a feedlot in Nuevo León.

Continued detections near the U.S.-Mexico border likely indicate a prolonged suspension of livestock imports from Mexico. Delayed trade data released on Friday showed that U.S. feeder cattle imports remained significantly lower compared to last year. Shipments for the first eight months totaled 324,600 head, down 66 percent, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service.

U.S. fed cattle imports from Canada continued to decline year-over-year amid tighter supplies. January-August imports totaled 366,160 head, down 7.3 percent from last year. Shipments are relatively strong compared to the last five years due to increased shipments in the first quarter.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.