Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was limited with light demand in all feeding regions through Friday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week were generally $1-$2 higher on a live basis in the Texas Panhandle at $121-$122/cwt.; $1 higher in Kansas at $121; $3 higher in Nebraska at $125; $1-$2 higher in the western Corn Belt at $125-$126. Dressed trade was $2 higher in Nebraska at $198; $3 higher to $3 lower at $198 in the western Corn Belt.
Surging wholesale beef values, position squaring and stronger cash fed cattle prices, albeit with anemic trade, helped buoy Cattle futures Friday.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 78¢ higher (30¢ to $1.225)
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.62 higher (80¢ to $2.20)
Corn futures closed 3¢ to 6¢ higher through the front six contracts, except for up fractionally in spot Sept, and then mostly 8¢ to 9¢ higher.
Soybean futures closed 6¢ to 8¢ higher, except for 20¢ higher in Spot Aug.
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After a better-than-expected employment report for July, major U.S. financial indices once again closed at record highs although the NASDAQ was down. The report from the labor department showed 943,000 new jobs last month, which brought the unemployment rate down to 5.4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 144 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 7 points higher. The NASDAQ was down 59 points.
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U.S. red meat exports closed the first half of the year at record levels, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Although volume and value eased from the enormous totals posted in April and May, export value was still the highest on record for the month of June and first-half shipments established a record pace for both beef and pork exports.
June beef exports totaled 112,249 metric tons (mt), up 42% from a year ago when exports were still hampered by a COVID-related slowdown in production. Export value was $804.4 million, up 68% from a year ago and the third highest on record after April and May of this year. First-half exports reached 700,087 mt, up 18% from a year ago, valued at $4.64 billion (up 28%). Compared to 2018, the record year for U.S. beef exports, first-half results were up 6% in volume and 15% in value.
“USMEF had expected a continued strong performance in June for both beef and pork exports, despite significant headwinds,” said USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “2021 has presented many formidable challenges for the U.S. industry, including a very tight labor situation, logistical obstacles that slowed product movement and foodservice restrictions in many key markets. So the fact that first-half exports reached record levels speaks to the loyalty of our international customer base, strong consumer demand for high-quality, nutritious U.S. red meat and the U.S. industry’s ability to adapt to a challenging and rapidly changing business climate. We have also seen a welcome rebound in beef and pork variety meat volumes, which had been down last year.”
Beef export value equated to $351.18 per head of fed slaughter in June, up 60% from last June’s COVID-impacted average. The first-half per-head average was $359.49, up 20% from a year ago. June exports accounted for 13.6% of total beef production and 11.5% of muscle cuts, both dramatically higher than a year ago. In the first half, exports accounted for 14.7% of total beef production and 12.5% for muscle cuts, each up about 1.5 percentage points from a year ago.
Pork exports reached 238,935 mt in June, up 15% from a year ago, while export value climbed 35% to $696.8 million. First-half pork exports topped last year’s record pace by 1% at 1.58 million mt, valued at $4.33 billion (up 7%).