Cattle futures closed mostly lower Friday on caution ahead of the three-day weekend.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 99¢ lower, except for an average of 11¢ higher in the back three contracts.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 60¢ higher, except for an average of 85¢ lower in the front three contracts.
Week to week on Friday, Live Cattle futures closed an average of 64¢ higher, from 7¢ higher toward the back to $1.22 higher in spot Oct. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $4.84 higher week to week on Friday.
Negotiated cash fed cattle was limited on light demand in Nebraska and the western Corn Belt through Friday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. Although too few to trend, there were some FOB live sales at mostly $220/cwt.
Based on established trade last week, FOB live prices were steady to $4 lower in the North at $218/cwt. and dressed delivered prices were steady at $345. However, prices strengthened toward the end of the week, according to various reports and the Texas Cattle Feeders Association reported its members trading FOB live steers and heifers at $222.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 73¢ lower Friday afternoon at $376.17/cwt. Select was $5.15 higher at $355.87. Week to week on Friday, Choice was 6¢ lower and Select was $5.21 lower.
Estimated total cattle slaughter last week of 526,000 head was 16,000 head fewer than the previous week but 32,000 head more than the same week last year. Year-to-date estimated total cattle slaughter of 18.5 million head was 1.5 million head fewer (-7.5%) than the same time last year. Estimated year-to-date beef production of 16.5 billion pounds was 876.3 million pounds less (-5.1%).
Grain and Soybean futures were lower on Friday with likely profit taking and positioning ahead of the three-day weekend.
Corn futures were 2¢ to 4¢ lower through Dec ’27. Kansas City HRW Wheat futures were mostly 13¢ to 15¢ lower. Soybean futures were mostly 6¢ to 12¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed lower Friday on worries about interest rate hikes tied to a stronger than expected labor report.
Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in August, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls in August rose by 10¢ to $37.75. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 271 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 29 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 77 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were 18¢ to $1.11 higher through the front six contracts.
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U.S. beef exports climbed signs of strengthening for the second consecutive month, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
July U.S. beef exports totaled 89,139 metric tons (mt), which was steady year over year, while value climbed 6% to $796.7 million. The value increase was driven primarily by another outstanding month for Taiwan, as well as strong results in Mexico, Japan, the Middle East, Colombia, the Caribbean and the ASEAN region. July shipments to China rebounded slightly from last year’s minimal volumes, but remained far below the levels seen in previous years.
Beef export value equated to just over $421 per head of fed slaughter in July, up 14% from a year ago. The January-July average was up 7% to $430.25 per head.
For January through July, beef exports were 8% below last year’s pace at 634,788 mt, while value was down 2% to $5.53 billion. When excluding China from these results, exports increased 6% in value and were down just 1% in volume from a year ago.
“Despite significant headwinds, global demand for U.S. beef remains impressively resilient,” says USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “Technical barriers and uncertainty continue to weigh heavily on exports to China, but we are hopeful that market access will be restored soon. In the meantime, U.S. beef is capitalizing on growth opportunities in Asian and Western Hemisphere markets, as well as in the Middle East.”
On the other side of the freezer, July pork exports totaled 224,305 mt, down 6% from a year ago, while value also fell 6% to $641.8 million.