Cattle futures showed signs of modest correction Wednesday as traders await direction from the week’s cash market.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.79 lower ($2.17 to $3.25 lower).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $1.14 lower (72¢ to $1.87 lower).
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive with very light demand to a standstill through Wednesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, live prices were $179/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $178 in Kansas, $182-$185 in Nebraska and $180-$183 in the western Corn Belt at $180-$183. Dressed prices were $290.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $5.56 lower Wednesday afternoon at $322.78/cwt. Select was $1.61 lower at $292.69/cwt.
Wheat futures bounced higher Wednesday amid selling fatigue and concerns about Russia’s sword rattling.
KC HRW Wheat closed 25¢ to 50¢ higher.
Corn and Soybean futures held their own with static week over week crop conditions.
Corn futures closed mostly 1¢ to 3¢ higher, except for the front two contracts.
Soybean futures closed mostly 1¢ to 8¢ higher through Aug ‘24, and then 11¢ to 13¢ higher.
******************************
Major U.S. financial indices resumed the trading week with softer tones Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 129 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 8 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 25 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $1.80 to $2.00 higher through the front six contracts.
******************************
Agricultural producer sentiment improved last month, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index. It rose 17 points from the May reading to 121 in June. Producers’ perceptions of current conditions was unchanged but they were more optimistic about the future with Index of Future Expectations increasing 25 points to 123.
“Optimism about U.S. agriculture’s future and a more sanguine interest rate outlook help explain producers’ more positive view of the future expressed in June’s survey,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “However, current conditions in the farming economy continue to present a challenge for some producers. This month four out of 10 producers stated that their financial situation has deteriorated compared to a year ago.”
The Farm Financial Performance Index also rose this month, up 10-points from May and was likely a result of a late-May to early-June rally in harvest time prices for corn and soybeans, as well as optimism towards positive returns for cattle producers.
In June, 50% of respondents said they expect “good times” for livestock producers in the next five years, up from 37% in May. Optimism about positive returns for cattle producers, especially cow-calf operations, was likely a key factor behind the positive livestock outlook.
The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted between June 12-16.