Cattle futures continued to gain Thursday on Corn weakness.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.41 higher (90¢ to $2.12 higher).
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 43¢ higher.
Corn futures closed 6¢ to 9¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed mostly fractionally lower to 4¢ lower, except for gains in the front four contracts.
KC HRW Wheat closed mostly 7¢ to 10¢ lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly limited on light demand to mostly inactive on light demand through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
There were a few live trades in Nebraska at $182/cwt., but too few to trend.
So far this week, live sales in Kansas are $2 lower at $178.
Last week, live prices were $180/cwt. in the Southern Plains $182-$185 in Nebraska and $184-$185 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed prices were $290.
Choice boxed beef cutout value 15¢ higher Thursday afternoon at $328.05/cwt. Select was 50¢ higher at $297.18/cwt.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mostly higher Thursday, buoyed by banks’ successful passage of stress testing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 296 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 19 points higher. The NASDAQ was fractionally lower.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 18¢ to 30¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Per capita red meat and poultry disappearance—often used as a proxy for consumption—is forecast to decline 1% next year, mostly due to an 8% projected decline in per capita disappearance of beef, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service.
For pork, a very slight decrease in pork production, combined with higher expected exports, result in a very small decrease in forecast per capita disappearance next year.