Cattle futures gained more ground Thursday, helped along by further erosion in the grain complex, as well as stronger wholesale beef values.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.38 higher (62¢ to $1.92 higher).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 33¢ higher (5¢ to 92¢ higher).
Favorable domestic weather and bullish expectations for Brazilian production continued to pressure grain and Soybean futures on Thursday. Another corn sales cancellation by China (233,000 metric tons) added more weight to Corn futures, which closed 11¢ to 19¢ lower through Jly ‘24 and then mostly 6¢ to 8¢ lower.
KC HRW Wheat closed mostly 12¢ to 18¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed 7¢ to 12¢ lower through Aug ‘24 and then mostly 3¢ lower.
There was no afternoon negotiated cash fed cattle summary from USDA at press time.
Based on the morning report, live and dressed sales Wednesday were steady to $3 lower in the western Corn belt at $180/cwt. and $275, respectively.
Last week, live prices were $175/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $173-$175 in Kansas and $180-$185 in Nebraska. Dressed prices in Nebraska were $284-$290.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.49 higher Thursday morning at $310.73/cwt. Select was $2.17 higher at $290.11/cwt.
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Major U.S. financial indices bounced sharply higher Thursday, led by big-name tech stocks. Macro-economic news was a mixed bag with the U.S. economy slowing more than analysts expected in the first quarter and inflation stronger than expected.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.1% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased 4.2%. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 4.9%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 524 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 79 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 287 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 27¢ to 46¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Rural economic conditions improved slightly in April, by one measure, but economic growth continues to be slow or negative, according to Ernie Goss, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.
The Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) rose from 45.6 to above growth-neutral in April at 50.01. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with a reading of 50.0 representing growth neutral. It is based on a monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.
“The Rural Mainstreet economy continues to experience slow, to no, to negative economic growth,” Goss says. “Less than 1% of bankers reported improving economic conditions for the month with 92% indicating no change in economic conditions from February’s slow growth.”
The slowing economy, higher borrowing costs and labor shortages continued to constrain the business confidence index to a weak 38.0, down from 39.1 in March. “Over the past 12 months, the regional confidence index has fallen to levels indicating a very negative outlook,” Goss says.