Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 88¢ higher Wednesday, supported by lower Corn futures.
Live Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed, from an average of 16¢ lower to an average of 33¢ higher.
Sharp volatility continued in grain futures, Wednesday, with traders apparently retrieving a chunk of recent risk premiums.
Corn futures closed 13¢ to 17¢ lower through Jly ‘24 and then 4¢ to 9¢ lower.
KC HRW Wheat closed 18¢ to 47¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed 1¢ to 2¢ lower, except for 30¢ and 18¢ higher in the front two contracts.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Wednesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, live prices (FOB) live prices were $180/cwt in the Southern Plains and $188 in Nebraska and the western Corn Belt, where dressed prices (FOB) were $295.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 88¢ lower Wednesday afternoon at $303.34/cwt. Select was $2.26 higher at $279.81/cwt.
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Major U.S. financial indices were mixed and little changed Wednesday, as the Fed interest rate hike (0.25%) was widely expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 82 points higher. The S&P 500 closed fractionally lower. The NASDAQ was down 17 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 57¢ to 85¢ lower through the front six contracts.
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Frozen beef supplies continue to decline year over year, according to the latest USDA Cold Storage report.
Total pounds of beef in freezers June 30 were 3% less than the previous month and 20% less than last year.
Frozen pork supplies were down 8% from the previous month and down 9% from the previous year.
Total red meat supplies in freezers were down 6% from the previous month and down 14% from last year.
Total frozen poultry supplies were 5% more than the previous month and 10% more than a year earlier.