REGIONAL FED CATTLE PRICE DYNAMICS

The lead-lag relationships present in the regional price discovery process are important indicators of market performance. Differences across markets in the speed of adjustment to evolving information may have implications for pricing efficiency within these markets. This study estimates intertemporal price relationships among 11 regional slaughter cattle markets. Larger volume markets, located in the major cattle feeding regions, were the dominant price discovery locations. Price adjustments across markets were complete in one to two weeks in the large volume markets located relatively close to each other and in two to three weeks in the more remote, smaller volume markets.