Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was light on moderate demand in Nebraska and limited on light demand in Kansas through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Although too few to trend, there were some early FOB live trades in Nebraska at $230/cwt. and a few in Kansas at $223-$225.
Last week, FOB live prices were $228 in the Southern Plains, $235-$237 in Nebraska and $235-$238 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $376.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 11¢ higher Thursday afternoon at $395.05. Select was $3.45 higher at $379.74.
Cattle futures continued to mainly hover Thursday.
Toward the close, Live cattle futures were an average of 13¢ lower except for 32¢ higher in near Aug. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 55¢ higher.
Grain and Soybean futures continued to dredge lower Thursday with follow-through bearishness and likely trepidation over next Monday’s Acreage and Grain Stocks reports.
Toward the close and through Mar ‘26 contracts, Corn futures were 1¢ lower. Kansas City Wheat futures were 5¢ lower. Soybean futures were 1¢ to 3¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed sharply higher Thursday, buoyed by easing geopolitical worries and a bullish reading on the jobs front. Initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending June 21 were 10,000 fewer than the previous week at 236,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That was less than the trade expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 404 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 48 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 194 points.
Through midafternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were 40¢ to 66¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Total pounds of beef in freezers May 31 were 3% less than the previous month and 1% less than a year earlier, according to the latest USDA Cold Storage report.
Frozen pork supplies were down 1% from the prior month and down 7% from the same time last year.
Total red meat supplies in cold storage were 2% less than the previous month and down 4% from last year.
On the other side of the meat case, total frozen poultry supplies were up 2% month to month but down 6% year over year.