The "worst combination" of cold and windy weather and weak supplies of calves have slowed the placement of cattle into US feedlots to its lowest since 1998.

Analysts believe that US Department of Agriculture data on Friday will show a 5% slide, year on year, in cattle placed last month, although one broker, Frontier Risk Management, has forecast that the drop could be as much as 16.1%.

"Reasons for this trend are higher costs to fatten cattle and lower supplies of calves… and the cold winter," analysts at Commerzbank said, noting also the impact of these expectations on Chicago prices.

"Within one month, prices for live cattle increased by 11% to US$87 per 100 pounds," the German bank said.

"During the same period, the price for feeder cattle advanced by 8% to US$98 per 100 pounds."

The decline in placings comes at the start of a year in which US beef exports are expected to rise by almost 10% from 2009's 1.86bn pounds, supported by global economic growth and a weaker dollar, the USDA said in a report on Wednesday.

Bad mix 

Besides causing logistical problems for getting animals into feedlots, cool weather can deter operators from taking up livestock because of the difficulties it causes for husbandry and potentially profitability.

"Cattle burn more energy in cold weather, so they eat more feed per pound of gain," the USDA said in Wednesday's report.

"Cattle marketed from feedlots in March, having gone through the coldest part of the winter, consume the greatest amount of feed per pound of gain and gain the least weight per day."

Wet and wind significantly decreased the efficacy of cattle hair as an insulator.

"The combination of cold, wet, and windy conditions, as was recently the case on the Plains, is the worst combination for feedlot performance, resulting in high costs and reduced feed conversion," the report said.