Cattle futures closed lower Wednesday with pressure including softer early cash fed cattle prices, weakening wholesale beef values and continued uncertainty tied to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in dairy cows linked to a rare case in humans.
Live Cattle closed an average of 74¢ lower.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.05.
Through Wednesday afternoon, negotiated cash fed cattle trade was slow on light demand in the North, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service
There were some early live delivered trades in Nebraska at $189/cwt. FOB live sales there last week were $189-$190). There were also some early FOB live sales the western Corn Belt at $187, which was $1-$3 lower. Dressed delivered prices in Nebraska were $4-$6 lower at $296. Dressed delivered prices in the western Corn Belt last week were $299-$300 in a very light test.
Elsewhere, trade was mostly inactive on light demand. Last week, FOB live prices were $186/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle and $185-$186 in Kansas.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.86 lower Wednesday afternoon at $301.30/cwt. Select was $2.07 lower at $296.92/cwt.
Grains and Soybean futures closed higher Wednesday with apparent short covering.
Corn futures closed mostly 2¢ to 5¢ higher.
KC HRW Wheat futures closed 10¢ to 17¢ higher.
Soybean futures closed mostly 6¢ to 8¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed narrowly mixed Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 43 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 5 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 37 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 28¢ to 62¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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U.S. agricultural producer sentiment increased in March, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The index increased 3 points month-to-month to 114. Although the Index of Current Conditions declined 2 points to 101, the Index of Future Expectations climbed 5 points to 120.
“Producers’ expectations for interest rate changes have shifted, which could help explain why producers look for financial conditions to improve,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
This month, 48% of respondents said they expect a decline in the U.S. prime interest rate over the next year, which was 13% more than in December. High input costs continue to be producers primary concern.
The March barometer also revealed that many producers are concerned about potential government policy changes affecting their operations following this year’s elections. For instance, 43% of respondents anticipate more restrictive regulations for agriculture; 39% expect taxes impacting agriculture to rise.
The March barometer survey was conducted from March 11-15.