Cash fed cattle trade was still mostly undeveloped for the week through Thursday afternoon.
There were a few live trades in Kansas and Nebraska at $110/cwt., on limited trade and light to moderate demand. That was $1 less than the previous week, but there were too few transactions to trend.
Cattle futures continued in range-bound two-sided trade on Thursday.
Live Cattle futures closed mostly marginally higher, from an average of 27¢ lower to an average of 31¢ higher.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 93¢ higher (62¢ to $1.20 higher).
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.31 higher Thursday afternoon at $199.57/cwt. Select was $1.67 higher at $190.76.
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After trending lower for much of the day, major U.S. financial indices closed narrowly mixed on Thursday. There was mixed economic news, nothing strongly bullish or bearish.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 5 points higher. The S&P 500 closed fractionally higher. The NASDAQ closed 19 points lower.
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“The overall perspective on protein markets is that beef, pork and poultry supplies are likely to be large through the fall and early winter,” says Stephen Koontz, agricultural economist at Colorado State University, in the latest issue of In the Cattle Markets. “Supplies are large and cold storage stocks are increasing. Thus, feeder cattle and calve are unlikely to hold at the levels seen in this environment.”
The latest monthly livestock slaughter data from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) underscores that notion. Total red meat and pork production was record high in September.
Beef production of 2.22 billion lbs. in September was 2% more than the previous year. Cattle slaughter of 2.70 million head was 3% more than last September, although average cattle live weight was 11 lbs. lighter at 1,359 lbs.
Commercial U.S. red meat production was 2% more than the previous September at 4.33 billion lbs., according to NASS.
For January through September this year, commercial red meat production was 4% more than the same month last year at 38.4 billion lbs. Accumulated beef production was up 5%. Pork production for the period was up 3%.