Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from moderate on moderate demand to mostly inactive on light demand through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
FOB live prices were $1 higher in the Texas Panhandle at $172/cwt., $1-$2 higher in Kansas at $172 and mostly $2 higher in the western Corn Belt at $172-$172.50.
Last week, FOB live prices were $171-$172 in Nebraska. Dressed delivered prices were $270.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 20¢ lower Thursday afternoon at 291.28/cwt. Select was $1.08 lower at $259.24/cwt.
Cattle futures softened Thursday amid light trade once again and perhaps with some year-end position squaring.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.42 lower (72¢ to $2.27 lower).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 44¢ lower, except for an average of 34¢ higher at either end of the board.
Corn futures closed mostly 1¢ to 2¢ lower.
KC HRW Wheat futures closed mostly 4¢ to 5¢ higher, helped along by increased tensions in the Black Sea.
Soybean futures closed mostly 4¢ to 8¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed little changed Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 53 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 1 point higher. The NASDAQ was down 4 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $2.24 to $2.37 lower through the front six contracts.
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Food price increases are expected to moderate further in 2024, according to the recently updated Food Price Outlook from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
“The all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of economy-wide inflation, decreased 0.2% from October 2023 to November 2023 and was up 3.1% from November 2022,” according to ERS. “The CPI for all food decreased 0.2% from October 2023 to November 2023, and food prices were 2.9% higher than in November 2022.”
More specifically, the food-at-home CPI decreased 0.5% month to month in November and was up 1.7% year over year. Conversely, the CPI for food purchased away from home increased 0.4% from October through November was 5.3% higher than a year earlier.
Next year, ERS predicts all food prices to increase 1.2%, compared to this year’s projection of a 5.8% increase. Prices for food at home were projected to decrease 0.6% while prices for food away from home were expected to increase 4.9%.