Cattle futures rose Wednesday with expectations of steady to higher cash fed cattle prices again this week.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of $2.08 higher ($3.45 higher near the front to $1.17 higher at the back). Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $3.11 higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was inactive on light demand in all major cattle feeding regions through Wednesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were mainly $245/cwt. in the Southern Plains, mostly $240/cwt. in Nebraska and $240-$242 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $378.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.63 lower Wednesday afternoon at $365.92/cwt. Select was 32¢ lower at $362.58.
Grain and Soybean futures were firmer Wednesday.
Toward the close, through near Sep contracts, Corn futures were 1¢ lower to 1¢ higher. KC HRW Wheat futures were 6¢ to 7¢ higher. Soybean futures were 1¢ to 2¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed little changed on Wednesday despite a more bullish labor outlook than anticipated.
Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 130,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was a touch lower at 4.3%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls rose by 15¢ in January to $37.17. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 66 points lower. The S&P 500 closed fractionally lower. The NASDAQ was down 36 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were 88¢ to $1.01 higher through the front six contracts.
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Farmer sentiment weakened sharply last month, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The overall index dropped 23 points month-to-month to a reading of 113. Increased short-term and long-term pessimism drove the decline. The Current Conditions Index dropped 19 points to 109, while the Future Expectations Index fell 25 points to 115, the lowest level since September 2024.
The survey was conducted Jan. 12-16, coinciding with USDA’s release of the January World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
“What stands out this month is the growing number of producers who report that higher operating-loan needs stem from carrying over unpaid debt from the previous year,” says Michael Langemeier, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “That points to increasing financial pressure heading into the year ahead.”
Half of the farmers surveyed indicated that their operations were worse off than a year earlier. Looking ahead to the next 12 months, more producers expect conditions to worsen.
Producers’ broader outlook for the U.S. economy also softened.
When asked whether the U.S. is headed in the right direction or on the wrong track, 62% of respondents said the U.S. was headed in the right direction, down from 75% month earlier.