Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was slow on light demand in Nebraska through Friday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. Live prices for the week were $1 lower at $157/cwt., and dressed prices were steady at $252.
Elsewhere, trade ranged from limited on light demand to mostly inactive on very light demand with too few transactions to trend.
For the week, live prices were steady in the Southern Plains at $157 and steady to $1 higher in the western Corn belt at $158-$160, where dressed prices were steady to $2 higher at $252.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.36 higher Friday afternoon at $282.99/cwt. Select was $2.39 higher at $259.34/cwt.
Cattle futures eased lower Friday pressured in part by firming Corn futures and static cash trade.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 65¢ lower, from 22¢ lower at the back to $1.10 lower in spot Jan, except for 22¢ higher in the back contract.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 44¢ lower (20¢ to 72¢ lower).
Export announcements helped Corn and especially Soybean futures close higher Friday.
Corn futures closed 1¢ higher in the front three contracts and then mostly fractionally mixed to 2¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed 13¢ to 34¢ higher through Jan ‘24 and then mostly 3¢ to 6¢ higher.
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For brief year-end perspective…
The five-area direct average steer price for 2022 was $144.52/cwt. on a live basis. That was $21.35 more (+17.3%) than the previous year and $36.33 more (+33.6%) than in 2020. The five-area average fed steer price for the year was $229.74 in the beef, which was $36.06 more than the previous year (+18.6%) and $57.47 more (+33.4%) than in 2020.
Based on the last report of the year, estimated beef production for 2022 was 27.8 billion pounds, which was 369.7 million pounds more (+1.3%) year over year. Estimated total cattle slaughter for the year was estimated to be 33.7 million head, which was 499,000 head more (+1.5%) than the previous year.
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Major U.S. financial indices surged higher Friday with a couple of reports suggesting that inflation may be cooling.
Although more jobs than expected were added in December, wage growth declined slightly from the previous month.
Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average hourly earnings for all employees on non-farm payrolls increased 9¢ (+0.3%) to $32.82.
As well, the Institute for Supply Management purchasers index for services declined for the first time in more than two years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 700 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 86 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 264 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 10¢ to 18¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Economic and logistical headwinds finally caught up to U.S. beef exports in November, however export value through the first 11 months of the year already exceeded the record of $10.58 billion achieved the previous year.
November beef exports totaled 115,777 mt, down 6% from the previous year’s large volume, while export value declined nearly 20% to $846.6 million, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
For the first 11 months of the year, beef export value increased 14% year-over-year to $10.9 billion. January-November export volume was 1.36 million mt, up 3% from the record pace of 2021.
November beef export value equated to $382.46 per head of fed slaughter, down 20% from a year ago, but the January-November average was up 13% to $452.42.
“Similar to the previous month, November results for U.S. beef exports reflected severe headwinds in our large Asian markets,” explains Dan Halstrom, USMEF president and CEO. “Key currencies in the region were still slumping, which impacted the buying power of importers and consumers. COVID cases and lockdowns in China were also intensifying, prompting widespread protests and the eventual lifting of many restrictions. But the U.S. dollar mainly peaked in late October and early November and global demand has remained relatively strong. Even with a high level of economic uncertainty, 2022 has been a fantastic year for U.S. beef exports and the outlook for the coming year remains positive.”