Cattle future closed lower Tuesday, amid retrenching and a risk-off atmosphere in commodities and equites tied to growing concerns about recession.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 59¢ lower (10¢ to $1.00 lower).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 73¢ lower (17¢ lower to $1.00 lower toward the front).
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, with too few transactions to trend, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, live prices were $2-$4 higher in the Texas Panhandle at $165-$167/cwt., $4 higher in Kansas at $167, $4-$7 higher in Nebraska at $168-$172 and $4-$6 higher in the western Corn Belt at $170. Dressed prices were $5-$7 higher at $270-$272.
Wholesale beef prices extended gains Tuesday. Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.85 higher Tuesday afternoon at $287.94/cwt. Select was $3.77 higher at $277.95/cwt.
Corn futures closed 3¢ to 9¢ lower.
KC HRW Wheat closed 1¢ to 3¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed mostly 8¢ to 12¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed lower Tuesday as investors grappled with the inflationary force of higher Crude Oil prices in tandem with signs the economy is slowing.
On the last business day of February, the number and rate of job openings decreased 632,000 to 9.9 million and 6.0%, respectively, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 198 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 23 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 63 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 20¢ to 29¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Agricultural producer sentiment weakened again in March, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. It declined 8 points from the previous month to 117. Both of the barometer’s sub-indices declined 8 points in March, leaving the Current Conditions Index at 126 and the Future Expectations Index at 113.
“Rising interest rates and weaker prices for key commodities including wheat, corn, and soybeans from mid-February through mid-March were key factors behind this month’s lower sentiment reading,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “Although the March survey did not include any questions directly related to the bank closures, during an open-ended comment question posed at the end of each survey, multiple respondents voiced concerns about the banking sector’s problems and its potential to hurt the economy. These problems also likely weighed on producer sentiment.”
The Farm Financial Performance Index remained unchanged from February at a reading of 86. Producers point to higher input costs and rising interest rates as their number one concern for the year ahead. Notably, concern about higher input cost has been falling since last summer’s peak.
The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted between March 13-17, which coincided with the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.