Negotiated cash fed cattle prices continued to gain ground Wednesday on slow trade and moderate demand, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
So far this week, live prices are $1 higher in the Southern Plains at $139/cwt., $2 higher in Nebraska at $140-$142, $3 higher in the western Corn Belt at $143 (a few up to $145) and $2-$4 higher in Colorado at $140-$142.
Dressed prices are $4 higher at $226; a few up to $231.
Choice Boxed beef cutout value was $1.11 lower Wednesday afternoon at $272.36/cwt. Select was $1.34 lower at $259.37.
Cash market strength helped Cattle futures once again.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 53¢ higher (35¢ to $1.00 higher).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 57¢ higher (30¢ to $1.02 higher).
That was despite Corn futures closing mostly 4¢ to 7¢ higher.
Soybean futures closed 4¢ to 5¢ higher in the front three contracts and then 1¢ to 2¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Wednesday, apparently buoyed by initial quarterly corporate earnings that beat expectations. That was despite the Consumer Price Index the previous day indicating the steepest inflation in four decades. It was also despite Wednesday’s monthly Producer Price Index registering the highest historical 12-month increase of 11.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 344 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 49 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 272 points
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $2.75 to $3.65 higher through the front six contracts.
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Consumers grew more comfortable preparing more meals at home through the pandemic and now health and wellness are becoming more significant drivers of their eating choices, according to America’s Health Pulse: Closing the Gap Between Wants and Needs, a new report from the NPD Group (NPD). Specifically, consumers are focusing more on customized diets, nutrient intake, and functional foods.
Wellness now directly impacts 21% of all eating occasions, amounting to billions of occasions annually, according to the report. With most meals sourced from home — a behavior established long before the pandemic — NPD expects wellness as a consumption driver to remain elevated into the foreseeable future.
Although consumers seek wellness overall, NPD analysts say they are homing in on specific areas. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a new focus on the food-as-medicine movement. Concern over the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus led many to consider their food choices to help build immunity. The importance of strong immunity remains a top wellness focus from a holistic standpoint rather than specifically fighting the virus. Additionally, the aging boomer population is looking to food as medicine to find remedies to either cure or manage health conditions.
Consumers customize their health and wellness eating goals with a variety of tools. These tools include social media and following social media influencers, personalized eating and fitness plans from healthcare providers or trainers, apps and technology-enabled exercise equipment, and forecasting health using genetic markers.
“The pattern of consumer attention to health and wellness shows increasing awareness and adaptation across the board,” says Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. “This means consumers no longer think of health and wellness as an add-on, but as an integrated part of how they live their lives; that, in turn, opens opportunity for brands to become a permanent solution.”