Negotiated cash fed cattle prices roared higher Thursday.
Trade in the Southern Plains was active with very good demand. Live prices were $5-$9 higher in the Texas Panhandle at $175-$180/cwt. and $7-$9 higher in Kansas at $178-$180.
Elsewhere, trade was moderate with very good demand. Live prices were $3-$6 higher in Nebraska at $183-$188 and $3-$5 higher in the western Corn Belt $185-$187. Dressed prices in Nebraska were $5-$6 higher at $285-$292. Last week, dressed prices in the western Corn Belt were $285.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 60¢ higher Thursday afternoon at $306.44/cwt. Select was 83¢ lower at $286.32/cwt.
The extraordinary ascent of cash fed cattle prices fueled another bounce in Cattle futures.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $3.65 higher ($2.25 higher at the back to $5.77 higher in spot Jun).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $3.38 higher ($2.47 to $4.20 higher).
Traders appeared to add weather premium to markets Thursday.
Corn futures closed mostly 5¢ to 8¢ higher.
KC HRW Wheat closed 12¢ to 19¢ higher.
Soybean futures closed 18¢ to 29¢ higher though May ‘24 and then mostly 11¢ to 18¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Thursday with optimism fueled by U.S. House passage of a debt ceiling bill.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 153 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 41 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 165 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $1.79 to $2.01 higher through the front six contracts.
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Ranch and farm labor wages increased in the latest semiannual Farm Labor report from USDA’S NASS.
Operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $18.08 per hour during the April 2023 reference week (April 9-15, 2023), up 5% from the April 2022 reference week. Field workers received an average of $17.26 per hour, up 5%, while livestock workers earned $16.48 per hour, up 4%. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate of $16.99 per hour, was up 4% from the 2022 reference week. Hired laborers worked an average of 40.6 hours during the reference week, up 2% year over year.
Ranch and farm operators hired 651,000 workers directly during the reference week, which was 3% more than the previous year.