There was light to moderate demand and trade for fed cattle in the Northern Plains on Thursday. Live prices were steady to 50¢ higher than the previous day at $128.00-$128.50/cwt., which is $1.50-$2.00 lower than last week. Dressed trade in Nebraska was steady to $1 lower than the previous week at $204-$205. Although there was also light to moderate demand and trade in the western Corn Belt, there were too few transactions to establish a trend on a live basis or in the beef.
Futures traders seemed mostly content with newfound price levels following the previous session’s downturn. There was some follow-through pressure on Thursday, especially in nearby contracts on apparent position taking, but nothing steep.
After $1.30 and 85¢ lower in the front two contracts, respectively, Live Cattle futures closed 27¢ lower to 22¢ higher.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 53¢ lower (7¢ to $1.02 lower).
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.03 higher on Thursday afternoon at $218.40/cwt. Select was 14¢ higher at $212.06.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed on Thursday, as investors continued to digest the impact of increased inflation and higher interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 164 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 2 points higher. The NASDAQ closed 8 points lower.
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Credit is getting tougher to come by for some agricultural producers, if the latest Creighton University Rural Main Street Index is any indication.
A third of the bankers surveyed during the process reported no change in their lending practices over the last year, while 45.2% reported increasing collateral requirements, 21.4% indicated rejecting a higher percentage of loan applications, and 11.9% reported reducing the average size of farm loans.
Each month, community bank presidents and CEOs in nonurban agriculturally and energy-dependent portions of a 10-state area are surveyed regarding current economic conditions in their communities and their projected economic outlooks six months down the road. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming are included.