Negotiated cash fed cattle trade continued on Thursday. Live sales so far are $2-$4 lower than last week at $117.00 to $118.50/cwt. Dressed sales are $3-$4 lower at $186-$187.
Helped along by short covering, Cattle futures found some stability on Thursday after strong pressure continued early in the session.
Live Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed (40¢ higher to 60¢ lower).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 26¢ higher, except for 35¢ to 75¢ lower in the back three contracts.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.32 lower on Thursday afternoon at $205.08/cwt. Select was 28¢ lower at $183.83.
******************************
Major U.S. financial indices closed higher on Thursday, led by gains in tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 70 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 7 points higher. The NASDAQ closed 36 points higher.
******************************
Producers expressed lower sentiment toward the agricultural economy in November, on the heels of fall harvest, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The November barometer declined 7 points to 128, the second-lowest reading of 2017.
“The November slide in sentiment was primarily driven by reduced optimism about the future,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “We saw the Index of Future Expectations fall by 10 points, while the barometer’s other sub-index, the Index of Current Conditions, held steady at 129.”
When asked whether they thought the next 12 months would be good times or bad times financially for the agricultural economy as a whole, 62% saw bad times ahead. The negative expectation has been growing since July when 50% expected worsening financial conditions.
The barometer is based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the country.