Cattle futures edged mostly lower on Friday amid sluggish trade and week-end position taking.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 35¢ lower (12¢ to 60¢ lower), except for 20¢ higher in the back contract.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 22¢ lower, except for unchanged in the back two contracts.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 74¢ higher Friday afternoon at $228.30/cwt. Select was 32¢ higher at $209.49.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed sharply higher on Friday. Key support for the day came from tech stocks, led by Apple, which surged on news that billionaire, Warren Buffet has been and aggressive Apple buyer for several months.
Depending on your mindset, the monthly U.S. employment report also provided some support, but less than the trade was expecting.
Non-farm employment increased by 164,000 in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; a little less than expectations. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in April, one of the lowest rates in recent history.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 332 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 33 points higher. The NASDAQ closed 121 points higher.
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U.S. beef exports set a new monthly value record in March at $693.1 million, 18% more than the previous year, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Export volume in March was 6% more than the previous year at 111,994 metric tons (mt).
For the first quarter of this year, beef exports were 9% ahead of last year’s pace in volume (318,073 mt) and 19% higher in value at $1.92 billion.
Beef export value averaged $332.89 per head of fed slaughter in March, up 23% from a year ago. For the first quarter, per-head value averaged $315.67, up 18%.
Asian and Latin American markets drove the increase in beef export value.
March beef exports to leading market Japan were steady with last year’s pace at 28,158 mt, but 6% more in value at $177.5 million. USMEF notes that March was the final month of a higher safeguard tariff rate (50% versus the normal 38.5%) applied to Japan’s imports of frozen U.S. beef. The higher rate took effect in August and expired Apr. 1 with the beginning of the new Japanese fiscal year.
“While beef exports to Japan held up well during those eight months, the higher tariff rate certainly weighed on exports of frozen cuts such as short plate,” says Dan Halstrom, USMEF President and CEO. “U.S. short plate is an essential ingredient for Japan’s gyudon restaurants, which are part of a highly competitive fast-casual dining sector. We are pleased to have the higher safeguard tariff rate behind us, though U.S. beef still faces a widening tariff rate gap in Japan compared to Australian beef, and U.S. beef remains subject to Japan’s quarterly safeguard mechanisms for chilled and frozen imports. USMEF continues to monitor this situation, and we are hopeful that the frozen beef safeguard will not be triggered this year.”
Exports to Mexico—the leading volume destination for U.S. beef variety meat—were steady with last year in volume at 57,039 mt but climbed 10% in value to $250.3 million.