Cattle futures crawled higher Thursday.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 49¢ higher, except for 5¢ lower in near Dec. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 66¢ higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was mostly inactive on light demand in all major cattle feeding regions through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $258-$260/cwt. in the Southern Plains and mostly $260 in the North. Dressed delivered prices were mostly $408 in Nebraska and $405 in the western Corn Belt on a light test.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.62 lower Thursday afternoon at $396.32/cwt. Select was $3.40 lower at $374.74.
Grain and Soybean futures were higher Thursday with likely technical buying and added weather premium.
Toward the close, and through near Mar contracts, Corn futures were mostly 7¢ to 8¢ higher. Soybean futures were 19¢ to 22¢ higher. Kansas City HRW Wheat futures were 2¢ to 4¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Thursday. Pressure included tech stocks and inflation.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) for May increased 0.4% and was 4.1% higher year over year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Excluding food and energy, the PCE increased 0.3% in May and was 3.4% higher than a year earlier.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 71 points higher. The S&P 500 closed fractionally lower. The NASDAQ was down 118 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were $1.06 to $1.18 higher through the front six contracts.
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Rural economic prospects improved in June, according to the Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI), which climbed 6.9 points month to month to 52.6, the highest level since July 2023. The RMI is based on a survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy. It ranges between 0 and 100 with 50 representing growth neutral.
“More than half, or 52.6%, of bankers reported that small business growth in their service area was stable, while 42.1% indicated modest declines. The remaining 5.3% reported modest growth for small business in their area,” says Ernie Goss, the Jack A. MacAllister chair in regional economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.
The farm and ranchland index increased for the second consecutive month, rising to 55.3 in June from 50.1 in May.
“Though farm and ranchland values have been holding up much better than farm income, weak farm income, lower farm liquidity and tougher credit standards have restrained farmland values,” according to Goss.
Although still weak, the June farm equipment sales index also increased, rising to 28.9 in June from 18.2 in May. However, the index was below growth neutral for the 34th consecutive month.
“The 2026 conflict in Iran and tariffs on imported steel/aluminum has created even more volatility in the agricultural sector, impacting agricultural equipment sales by tightening farmer operating margins via increasing input costs,” Goss explains.
Overall, rural bankers remain pessimistic about economic growth for their area over the next six months. The June economic confidence index moved to 42.1 from 34.8 in May.
When asked to name the top federal action needed to drive farm and ranch income higher, 41.9% named lowering global tariffs; approximately 26.3% said passage of a 5-year farm bill.