Cattle futures closed solidly lower Thursday amid trade worries, pressure on commodities overall, lower wholesale beef prices and the lack of cash direction.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $1.60 lower (92¢ at the back of the board to $2.12 lower).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.61 lower.
Boxed beef cutout values were weak to lower on light to moderate demand and moderate to heavy offerings, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.82 lower in the afternoon at $222.08/cwt., the lowest since the end of April. Select was 33¢ lower at $201.97.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Thursday. Support came from media and tech stocks, including Comcast’s announced bid for major portions of Twenty-First Century Fox.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 25 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 6 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 65 points.
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Convenience is trumping some of the concerns consumers previously had about shopping online for groceries, such as higher costs, fees or waiting for delivery, according to the NPD Group (NPD).
In early 2017, NPD reported that 6% of U.S. consumers shopped online for groceries. That’s now up to 16%, or over 52 million people, shopping online for groceries, using either delivery or click-and-collect.
Keep in mind that it was about a year ago when Amazon announced its plans to acquire Whole Foods, ultimately pressing brick-and-mortar national grocery retailers to move faster toward offering online delivery and pickup services.
Amazon Prime members, men, and young adults and those who find grocery shopping a necessary evil were among the first groups to shop for their groceries online, according to NPD. At the same time, growth in click-and-collect and speedy delivery options launched by major grocery chains expanded the appeal of online shopping to the broader population.
“This past year has been a game of one-upmanship among the major grocery chains,” says Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. “We went from two-day delivery, to one-day, to same-day, to two-hour delivery; with the speed of delivery being defined in superlatives, like fast to ultra-fast. It’s been a fascinating year and the best part about it is that in the end, consumers are the winners of the game.”
The NPD folks point out that online grocery shoppers take an omnichannel approach and still shop at brick-and-mortar grocers, too.