Cattle futures basically tread in place Wednesday, awaiting the week’s cash fed cattle direction.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were of 49¢ higher. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 25¢ lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Wednesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $203/cwt. in all regions. Dressed delivered prices were $320-$321.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.88 lower Wednesday afternoon at $313.89/cwt. Select was 5¢ higher at $303.76.
Grain and Soybean futures were softer Wednesday with likely profit taking and producer selling.
Toward the close and through Sep ’25 contracts, Corn futures were mixed from 4¢ lower to 3¢ higher. Kansas City Wheat futures were 10¢ to 12¢ lower. Soybean futures were 5¢ to 6¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial edged higher again Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 71 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 14 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 14 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were 22¢ to 33¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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USDA’s recently released Agricultural Projections to 2034 project peak cattle prices in 2026.
The five-area direct weighted average fed steer price rises to $196.49/cwt. next year from $186.50 this year in the projections and then declines to $150.65 in 2031 before increasing again.
Similarly, projections peg the average Oklahoma City feeder steer price next year at $267.26, up from $258.75 this year and then declining to $189.80 in 2031 before rebounding.
USDA analysts expect domestic cattle supplies to respond to higher prices early in the projection period, leading to expansion. Projections see the total cattle inventory at a low this year of 86 million head and then growing to 91.8 million head in 2033. However, projections call for beef cow numbers to reach a bottom next year at 27.8 million head — slightly fewer than this year — and then expanding to 30.6 million in 2031 before receding again.
Along the way, beef production declines from 25.9 billion pounds this year to 24.8 billion pounds in 2027 and then growing to 27.9 billion pounds in 2034. Analysts note, “Projections are premised on assumptions for normal weather which support improved pasture conditions following periods of widespread drought in recent years.”
Feed costs are expected to decline or remain static during the projection period.
“Corn prices are expected to start the projection period at $3.90 per bushel, or 38.0% below the recent peak of $6.54 per bushel in 2022/23,” analysts explain. “This downward trend reverses in 2026/27 and prices climb to $4.30 per bushel during the last half of the projection period. Growth in domestic corn use of 4.9% during the projection period is driven almost entirely by the feed and residual category, spurred by expanding corn supplies and meat production growth to meet domestic and export demand for beef, pork and poultry.”
Macroeconomic assumptions underpinning the projections include U.S. real GDP growth at an annual average of 1.8%. Global GDP growth is projected to average 2.7%.