Cattle futures meandered Tuesday, awaiting weekly cash direction.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 24¢ lower, except for an average of 2¢ higher in the back two contracts. Feeder Cattle futures were narrowly mixed, from an average of 29¢ lower in five contracts to an average of 19¢ higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was inactive on light demand in all cattle feeding regions through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $234-$236/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $233-$236 in Kansas $234-$236 in Nebraska and mainly $235 in the western Corn Belt.
Dressed delivered prices were $370 in Nebraska and $365-$370 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 79¢ lower Tuesday afternoon at $368.11/cwt. Select was $1.93 lower at $365.19.
Grain and Soybean futures were mixed Tuesday.
Toward the close, through near Sep contracts, Corn futures were 1¢ lower. KC HRW Wheat futures were 1¢ to 2¢ higher. Soybean futures were 3¢ to 5¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed on Tuesday, supported by tech stocks, but pressured by health care.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 408 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 28 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 215 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were $1.31 to $1.93 higher through the front six contracts.
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Rural bankers remain pessimistic about economic growth for their area over the next six months, according to the latest Creighton University Rural Main Street Index. However, the January confidence index rose to 44.0, its highest reading since February 2023, and up from 40.9 in December.
“Despite $12 billion of federal farm support, weak grain prices and negative farm cash flows, combined with tariff retaliation concerns, continue to weigh on banker confidence,” explains Ernie Goss, the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. “More than one of three bankers, (34.7%) indicated that their local economy was currently in a recession. Another 26.9% expect their local economy to experience recession conditions in the first half of 2026.”
The overall Rural Mainstreet Index was 52.0 in January, rising 1.9 points month to month and reaching the highest level since July 2023. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with a reading of 50.0 representing growth neutral. It is based on a monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.