Cattle futures roared back Tuesday with apparent fund buying.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.78 higher (from $1.95 higher at the back to $3.92 higher at the front).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $2.04 higher (from $1.05 higher near the back to $3.72 higher toward the front).
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was at a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $178/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $178-$179 in Kansas, $176-$178.75 in Nebraska and $177-$179 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices $280.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 59¢ higher Tuesday afternoon at $294.07/cwt. Select was 83¢ higher at $284.60/cwt.
Soybean futures closed fractionally higher to 3¢ higher through Sep ’25 and then mostly 1¢ lower.
Corn futures closed fractionally mixed after the first three contracts.
KC HRW Wheat futures closed mostly fractionally lower after the first few contracts.
******************************
Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 141 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 11 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 11 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 38¢ to 53¢ higher through the front six contracts.
******************************
U.S. agriculture producers were less optimistic than the previous month in January, according to the latest Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
Month to month, the overall Ag Economy barometer declined 8 points to 106. The Current Conditions Index fell 9 points, and the Future Expectations Index dropped by 7.
“The number of producers pointing to lower commodity prices and lower farm income in 2024 significantly influenced the decline across all indices,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
In January, 31% of respondents anticipated a decline in their operation’s performance this year, compared to 20% in December.
“For the first time, the percentage of producers choosing lower commodity prices as a top concern matched the percentage of producers who chose higher input costs,” Mintert says. “This alignment indicates that U.S. producers are worried about a possible cost/price squeeze leading to lower incomes.”
The latest Ag Economy Barometer survey was conducted from Jan. 15-19.