Cattle futures took a breath Tuesday and wobbled narrowly lower awaiting cash direction.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 27¢ lower.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 47¢ lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Live prices last week were $160/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $160-$161 in Kansas, $157-$160 in Nebraska and $160 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed prices were $254.
Wholesale beef prices continued their recent upward trend. Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.11 higher Tuesday afternoon at $272.06/cwt. Select was $2.57 higher at $258.78/cwt.
Profit taking seemed to be the main order of the day in the grain complex.
Corn futures closed 1¢ to 2¢ lower through Dec ‘23 and then mostly unchanged.
KC HRW Wheat closed mostly 3¢ to 6¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed mostly 2¢ to 6¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Tuesday with pressure from a steamier inflation reading than expected.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.5% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.1% in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 6.4% before seasonal adjustment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 156 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 1 point lower. The NASDAQ was up 68 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 86¢ to $1.09 lower through the front six contracts.
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USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) left the projected annual average feeder steer price for this year unchanged at $203/cwt., in the February Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. That was based on current price strength and narrowing supplies, as indicated in the January Cattle report.
Average feeder steer prices (750-800 lbs., Oklahoma City) were forecast to be $182/cwt. in the first quarter, $192 in the second quarter, $214 in the third quarter and $224 in the fourth quarter.
As mentioned recently in Cattle Current, ERS increased the projected five-area direct fed steer price to $158/cwt. in the first quarter of this year and to $159 in the second quarter with an annual average price of $159.
“Based on the January Cattle on Feed data, greater than expected market-ready supplies of fed cattle Jan. 1 increased the anticipated pace of marketings in first-quarter 2023,” ERS analysts say. “However, smaller than expected placements in December lowered the outlook for marketings in the second quarter. Further, a faster pace of cow slaughter is anticipated in the first half. As a result, in first-quarter 2023, total cattle slaughter was raised but was partially offset by lower expected weights, leaving production up 140 million pounds from last month.”