Cattle futures resumed higher Thursday.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of $1.62 higher. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $3.76 higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was inactive on light demand in all major cattle feeding regions through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $232/cwt. in Kansas and mostly $232 in Nebraska and the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $365.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.24 higher Thursday afternoon at $360.77/cwt. Select was $2.06 higher at $359.71.
Grain and Soybean futures were mixed on Thursday.
Toward the close, through near Sep contracts, Corn futures were 1¢ to 2¢ lower. KC HRW Wheat futures were 4¢ to 5¢ lower. However, Soybean futures were 6¢ to 10¢ higher with some support including Brazilian production forecast to be less than expected.
Toward the close, through near Sep contracts, Corn futures were 1¢ to 2¢ higher. KC HRW Wheat futures were 1¢ to 3¢ higher. Soybean futures were mostly unchanged to 10¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Thursday, with support from tech stocks and a decline in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 292 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 17 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 58 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were $2.38 to $2.73 lower through the front six contracts on easing U.S. political rhetoric regarding Iran.
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Keeping in mind still-delayed USDA reports due to the earlier government shutdown, steer slaughter through November had declined roughly 6.7% to around 14.2 million head — the largest annual decline since the 1970s — according to the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC). Heifer slaughter was estimated to be 8.2% less at approximately 9.2 million head.
“Cattle slaughter in 2025 was characterized by tight feeder supplies that reduced available fed cattle inventories, while record prices have incentivized some degree of retention, especially for cows,” LMIC analysts say in the early-January Livestock Monitor.
As of the end of November, federally inspected cattle slaughter reported by USDA-NASS for 2025 was down 7.1% to just over 26.7 million head, according to the LMIC.
“Including data for actual and estimated daily slaughter in December from USDA-AMS, total slaughter for the year is about 29.1 million head, which equates to a year-to-year loss of roughly -6.9%,” LMIC analysts explain. “For context, the last time slaughter posted year-to-year declines in the 7% range was from 2013 to 2014 (7.1%); slaughter then bottomed out the following year in 2015.”