Strong fundamentals and increasing open interest helped lift Cattle futures Tuesday.
Toward the close, Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $1.95 higher. Live Cattle futures were an average of 74¢ higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $196-$197/cwt. in the Southern Plains and $200 in Nebraska and the western Corn. Dressed delivered prices were $315.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.31 lower Tuesday afternoon at $325.79/cwt. Select was $2.10 higher at $305.43.
Grain and Soybean futures closed mixed Tuesday with traders keeping in mind the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates and Grain Stocks report due out this Friday.
Toward the close and through Sep ’25 contracts, Corn futures were mainly unchanged. Kansas City Wheat futures were 2¢ to 3¢ higher. Soybean futures were mostly fractionally lower to 2¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed lower Tuesday, pressured by rising Treasury yields, strengthened in part by stronger than expected growth in the service sector that many viewed as a drag to potential interest rate cuts this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 178 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 66 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 375 points.
Through late afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were 49¢ to 75¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Agricultural producer sentiment drifted lower month to month in December, declining 9 points to an overall reading of 136, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
Producers’ perception of current conditions drove the decline with the Index of Current Conditions dropping 9 points to 136, which was still 24 points above the low in September. The Index of Future Expectations fell 8 points to 153, remaining 59 points above its September low.
“While sentiment dipped this month, it’s clear that much of the postelection optimism about future conditions is still holding strong,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “Producers’ optimism about the future seems to stem largely from their expectations for a more favorable policy environment over the next five years.”
International agricultural trade remains an ongoing concern for U.S. producers. In December, 43% of survey respondents chose trade policy as the most important policy for their operation in the upcoming five years.
Moreover, the November and December barometer surveys asked producers about the likelihood of a trade war that could negatively affect U.S. agricultural exports. In December, 48% of producers said they believe a trade war that harms agricultural exports is either likely (32%) or very likely (16%), an increase from 42% in November. Conversely, only 21% of respondents in December viewed a trade war as either unlikely (17%) or very unlikely (4%), down from 26% in November.
This month’s survey was conducted from Dec. 2-6, 2024.