Cattle futures ground higher Wednesday, supported by renewed cash market strength.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures an average of $1.19 higher. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $2.09 higher, except for 53¢ lower in the back contract.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was mostly inactive on light demand through Wednesday afternoon, according to the agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $233/cwt. in Kansas, $232-$233 in Nebraska and $232-$235 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $360-$365 in Nebraska on a light test and $360-$367 in the western Corn Belt on a light test.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.68 lower Wednesday afternoon at $367.97/cwt. Select was $1.56 higher at $348.06.
Corn and Soybean futures were lower Wednesday on favorable weather and early private-company yield estimates.
Toward the close and through the front four contracts, Corn futures were 4¢ to 5¢ lower. Soybean futures were fractionally lower to 3¢ lower. However, Kansas City HRW Wheat were 7¢ to 8¢ higher with added war premium.
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Major U.S. financial indices were mixed Wednesday with some likely profit taking from the previous tw0 sessions’ strong gains, which were fueled by strong quarterly corporate earnings reports and lower oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 263 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 12 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 221 points.
Through mid-afternoon West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were 20¢ to 42¢ lower through the front six contracts.
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U.S. beef exports increased year over year in June despite lower volumes, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
Monthly beef exports totaled 88,586 metric tons (mt) in June, down 6% from a year ago. However, export value was up 3% to $790.1 million, bolstered by year-over-year increases in Japan, Taiwan, the ASEAN region, Central America, South Korea, Hong Kong, the Caribbean and Africa.
For the first half of this year, beef export volume was 9% lower than a year ago at 545,649 mt, while value fell 4% to $4.74 billion. Much of this decline was due to the continued absence from China, where beef exports were strong in the first quarter of 2025 before China allowed U.S. facility registrations to expire. Although these registrations were renewed during President Trump’s visit to China in May, exports to China remain minimal due to plant suspensions and uncertainty over China’s residue testing – trade barriers that U.S. officials are working to resolve. When China is removed from the January-June results, beef export volume declined just 1% from the first half of last year while export value increased 6%.
“While we never want to see exports down year-over-year, global demand for U.S. beef continues to be very resilient,” says USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “USMEF greatly appreciates the Trump administration’s persistent efforts to resolve the outstanding issues facing U.S. beef exports to China. The economic situation throughout Asia remains challenging, with lost purchasing power in U.S. dollar terms, yet customers continue to purchase a wide range of U.S. beef cuts, at record prices. This gives us an optimistic outlook for the second half.”
On the other side of the meat case, U.S. pork exports totaled 224,822 mt in June, down 6% from a year ago, with value falling 9% to $624.5 million. As USMEF previously reported, Mexico and Colombia suspended imports of U.S. pork offal at the beginning of May, and this situation was not resolved until early July for Colombia and mid-July for Mexico. Fortunately, these countries have now removed pseudorabies-related restrictions on pork variety meat, though exporters still face prolonged clearance times in China due to heightened inspections.