Traders seemed to reconsider their initial reaction to Wednesday’s WASDE, fueling gains in Corn and Soybeans. The looming deadline to extend the Black Sea Grain initiative may have added support.
Corn futures closed mostly 12¢ to 16¢ higher.
Soybean futures closed mostly 29¢ to 43¢ higher.
KC HRW Wheat closed 2¢ to 5¢ higher.
The bounce higher in Corn futures weighed on Cattle futures Thursday, especially Feeder Cattle.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.36 lower (57¢ to $1.42 lower).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 32¢ lower, except for unchanged and 2¢ higher in two contracts.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was mostly inactive on light demand in all regions through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $4.07 lower Thursday afternoon at 306.91/cwt. Select was 92¢ lower at $280.18/cwt.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Thursday with another favorable inflation reading.
The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.1% percent in June, seasonally adjusted, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Final demand prices declined 0.4% in May and edged up 0.1% in April. On an unadjusted basis, the index for final
demand advanced 0.1% for the 12 months ended in June.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 47 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 37 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 219 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $1.18 to $1.22 higher through the front six contracts.
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USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) increased expected global beef production in the latest quarterly Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade. Compared to the April report, FAS increased worldwide production to 59.6 million tons, about 1% more.
“Drought has induced more herd liquidation in Argentina, raising its production 6% from the April forecast,” FAS analysts explain. “Similarly, larger feedlot placements and higher cow slaughter are expected to boost U.S. production by 1% from April. New Zealand production is raised 3% as male dairy calves are now marketed for beef. EU production is cut 1% on lower slaughter and lighter weights due to high input costs.
On a related note, net U.S. beef export sales were 42% less than the previous week and down 28% from the prior four-week average, according to USDA’s weekly U.S. Export Sales report for the week ending July 6.
Increases were primarily for Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Mexico.