A hard break in Corn futures and likely positioning ahead of Friday’s monthly Cattle on Feed report gave Feeder Cattle futures more room to run, up an average of $2.32.
Corn futures closed mostly 9¢ to 16¢ lower on leaner weekly export sales and ethanol production, as well as likely profit taking.
Soybean futures closed 1¢ to 5¢ higher, helped along by vegetable oil prices.
Feeder Cattle support also came from stronger cash fed cattle prices this week that helped Live Cattle futures close an average of $1.05 higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from a standstill to limited on light demand through Thursday afternoon with too few transactions to trend, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
So far this week, negotiated cash fed cattle prices are $1 higher on a live basis in the Southern Plains at $140/cwt., $4 higher in Nebraska at $144-$146 and $3 higher in the western Corn Belt at $145-$146. Dressed prices are $4 higher at $230.
Choice Boxed beef cutout value was $1.35 higher Thursday afternoon at $270.17/cwt. Select was 85¢ lower at $255.68.
Carcass weights continue higher year over year. For the week ending April 9, the average dressed steer weight was 12 lbs. heavier at 912 lbs., according to USDA’s Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection report. The average dressed heifer weight was 11 lbs. heavier at 840 lbs. The same week, 78,681 beef cows were slaughtered, which was 20.8% more year over year.
Net U.S. beef export sales of 15,000 metric tons (mt) were 13% less than the previous week and 27% less than the prior four-week average, according to the U.S. Weekly Export Sales for the week ending April 14. Increases were primarily for Japan, South Korea, China, Canada, and Taiwan.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed sharply lower Thursday, pressured by inflation concerns and rising Treasury yield rates. Earlier in the session, indices were sharply higher on positive quarterly corporate earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 368 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 65 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 278 points.
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Recent widespread winter storms eased drought conditions a bit last week. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, 65.82% of the nation is classified from abnormally dry (D0) to exceptional drought (D4), compared to 67.44% a week earlier and 64.68% a year earlier when drought was already prevalent in some regions.
However, areas affected by Extreme (D3) or exceptional drought expanded from 19.37% the previous week to 20.24%; it was 21.14% at the same time last year.
In the High Plains, except for North Dakota and areas of bordering states, “…windy, dry weather raised dust, resulting in fast-spreading wildfires, and led to a broad increase in the coverage of abnormal dryness (D0) and moderate to extreme drought (D1 to D3),” according to the U.S. Drought Summary (USDS).
USDS analysts say a classic La Niña regime developed in the West during recent weeks, bringing moisture to northern California and the Pacific Northwest, eastward to the northern Rockies.
“At the same time, dry, often windy weather has affected the nation’s southwestern quadrant. As a result, deterioration has been observed in parts of the Southwest, particularly in New Mexico,” analysts say.