Cattle futures softened Tuesday with pressure from outside markets and likely profit taking.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.07 lower.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 73¢ lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on light demand to a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $182/cwt. in the Southern Plains, $180-$182.50 in Nebraska and $180-$182 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $285-$289 in Nebraska and $285 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.81 lower Tuesday afternoon at $292.27/cwt. Select was $1.72 lower at $285.30/cwt.
Corn futures closed mostly fractionally higher to 1¢ higher.
KC HRW Wheat futures closed 2¢ to 4¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed 3¢ to 6¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed sharply Tuesday, under pressure from a hotter inflation reading than expected, prompting concerns the Fed would take longer to cut interest rates.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 0.2% in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.1% before seasonal adjustment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 524 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 68 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 286 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 32¢ to 95¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Domestic and global economic growth continue to firm, according to the recent Interim Economic Outlook from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
OECD projects U.S. economic growth this year to be 2.1% and then 1.7% in 2025, helped by consumers continuing to spend savings built up during the COVID and easier financial conditions.
The Outlook projects global GDP growth of 2.9% in 2024 and 3.0% in 2025. Asia is expected to continue to account for the bulk of global growth in 2024-25, as it did in 2023. With said, OECD analysts note China’s economy is projected to grow at 4.7% this year and 4.2% in 2025 – the slowest rate in any of the 25 years before COVID, reflecting weak consumer demand and structural strains in property markets.
“The global economy has shown real resilience amid the high inflation of the past two years and the necessary monetary policy tightening. Growth has held up, and we expect inflation to be back to central bank targets by the end of 2025 in most G20 economies,” according to Mathias Cormann. OECD Secretary-General. “Monetary policy needs to remain prudent, though central banks could start to lower interest rates this year, provided that inflation continues to ease.”
The OECD expects inflation to continue easing gradually, as cost pressures moderate. Headline inflation in G20 countries is expected to decline from 6.6% in 2024 to 3.8% in 2025. Core inflation in the G20 advanced economies is projected to fall back to 2.5% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025.