Weekly cash fed cattle trade remained a no-go through Thursday afternoon with feedlots eyeing recent futures market strength and packers apparently overlooking apparent regional snugness in supplies.
Cattle futures continued to firm on Thursday with chatter about more optimistic demand in the short run and the chance for prices to rally.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 67¢ higher (7¢ to 97¢ higher in spot Feb).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.21 higher through the front four contracts and then an average of 71¢ higher, except for 12¢ higher in the back contract.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed lower on Thursday, dampened by the continuing possibility of a government shutdown if Congress can’t pass a spending bill or stop-gap measure by the end of the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 97 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 4 points lower. The NASDAQ closed 2 points lower.
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Restaurant operator confidence in current and future business conditions grew in November, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) released at the end of December.
The RPI in November was 101.1, up from 100.9 the previous month.
“Although the overall RPI increase was modest in November, some key indicators registered notable improvements,” according to the report. “Restaurant operators reported their strongest same-store sales performance since June. In addition, nearly one-half of operators expect their sales to be higher in six months, while their outlook for the overall economy improved to its strongest level in three years.”
It’s worth noting this optimism was in place before the reality of tax reform.