Cattle futures mostly edged higher Wednesday, maintaining the previous session’s strong gains and expectations for steady to stronger cash fed cattle prices this week.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 11¢ higher, except for unchanged to an average of 15¢ lower in two contracts.
Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 16¢ higher, except for an average of 25¢ lower at either end of the board.
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 $248/cwt. in the Southern Plains, mostly $245 in Nebraska and mostly $244-$245 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $382 in Nebraska and $380-$382 in the western Corn Belt on a light test.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 96¢ lower Wednesday afternoon at $363.80/cwt. Select was 41¢ higher at $360.63.
Grain futures gained Wednesday on likely short covering.
Toward the close, through near Sep contracts, Corn futures were unchanged to fractionally higher. KC HRW Wheat futures were 10¢ to 14¢ higher. Soybean futures were mostly 1¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices eased higher Wednesday, led by tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 129 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 38 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 175 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were $2.45 to $3.02 higher through the front six contracts with increased risk related to U.S.-Iran talks.
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Intuitively, we know that beef demand is important and that more is better than less. However, determining what specific demand levels mean to prices, relative to a given supply of beef, is complex.
“In short, the market simply would not have experienced observed beef and cattle price outcomes in either 2024 or 2025, absent notable consumer demand strength,” says Glynn Tonsor, agricultural economist at Kansas State University (K-State), in the Feb. 17 issue of In the Cattle Markets. “Stated simply, the number of beef cows matters but is far from the complete story and robs the industry of credit for a good story worth telling, and better appreciation.”
Try this on for size: increased demand explains 87% of increased year-over-year retail beef price in 2025, whereas the declining beef supply accounts for 14%. That’s according to a recent analysis by Tonsor and fellow K-State agricultural economist, Brian Coffey.
“… Dramatic national-level herd liquidation since 2019 has been a key factor in supporting prices for cattle all along the supply chain and all types of beef,” they explain. “However, a look at the data readily reveals that the market changes observed in past few years are anything but one-dimensional. One factor that has received less attention than others is the role of consumer demand for beef.”
In A Microeconomic Assessment of the U.S Retail Beef Market: Beef Demand Matters, they illustrate demand’s role in U.S. consumers paying higher retail beef prices for more beef.