Cattle futures rallied higher Monday with follow-through support, including renewed buying interest, especially in Feeder Cattle, and firming cash fed cattle prices at the end of last week.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.40 higher ($1.97 to $2.85 higher).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 68¢ higher (27¢ to 97¢ higher).
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was at a standstill in all regions through Monday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live sales were $1 lower in the Southern Plains at $170/cwt., $1-$3 lower in Nebraska at $168 and $1-$2 lower in the western Corn Belt at $167-$169. Dressed delivered prices were steady to $4 lower in Nebraska at $267-$268 and $1-$3 lower in the western Corn Belt at $267.
Last week’s weighted average five-area direct FOB live steer price was $1.23 lower at $168.71/cwt. The weighted average steer price in the beef was $2.10 lower at $267.53.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.71 lower Monday afternoon at $288.93/cwt. Select was $2.90 higher at $263.72/cwt.
Corn futures closed 3¢ to 6¢ lower through Jly ’25 and then 1¢ higher.
KC HRW Wheat futures closed mostly 13¢ to 15¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed mostly 5¢ to 8¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices edged higher Monday with the most support from tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed fractionally higher. The S&P 500 closed 21 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 90 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $1.02 to $1.05 higher through the front six contracts.
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With the apparent beef cow culling rate this year of 12.1%, Derrell Peel, Extension livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University says the herd likely contracted 2.0-2.5% in 2023. If so, he explains in his weekly market comments that the cow inventory at the beginning of 2024 would be about 28.2 million head, the fewest since 1961.
“The level of heifer slaughter in 2023, down just 2.8% year over year, doesn’t indicate a likelihood of many ‘extra’ heifers bred in 2023,” Peel says. “The pool of bred beef heifers is likely to remain low going into 2024, keeping the prospects of beef cow herd growth minimal in the coming year.”
You can hear more of Peel’s insights here.