Cattle futures softened Monday with likely profit taking and positioning.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of $4.16 lower. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $3.54 lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was mostly inactive on light demand in all major cattle feeding regions through Monday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $1 lower in the Texas Panhandle at $256/cwt., $1 lower to $1 higher in Kansas at $256-$258, mainly $1 lower in Nebraska at $256 and steady to $2 lower in the western Corn Belt at $256. Dressed delivered prices were mainly $405, which was mostly steady.
The five-area direct weekly weighted FOB live fed steer price was 33¢ lower at $256.53. The weighted average dressed delivered fed steer price was 53¢ lower at $404.66.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 50¢ lower Monday afternoon at $392.20/cwt. Select was $4.60 lower at $378.09.
Corn and Soybean futures tried to firm on Monday and Kansas City wheat was higher.
Toward the close, and through near Mar contracts, Corn futures were fractionally higher to 2¢ lower. Soybean futures were fractionally lower to 4¢ lower. Kansas City HRW Wheat futures were 5¢ to 8¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Monday, lifted by tech stocks but pressured by rising oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 80 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 21 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 220 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were 73¢ to $1.86 higher through the front six contracts.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed two additional cases of New World screwworm (NWS) in the United States – a calf in La Salle County, Texas, and a dog in Lea County, New Mexico.
“Confirmation of NWS in the country removes one source of uncertainty and allows the market to focus on the reality, which has largely been priced into the market,” says Derrell Peel, Extension livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University, in his weekly market comments. “The ‘good’ news in all this is that it is not a broader market issue. NWS will affect relatively few animals and is not something that will affect the cattle supply or beef production. It also is not a food safety issue and there are no impacts on meat. Beef market supply and demand fundamentals are not affected and no significant market impacts are anticipated. Additionally, no major trade impacts are warranted or expected relative to NWS.”
With that said, various states have implemented elevated requirements for cattle moving to and through their state from some or portions of Texas. Canada also placed a temporary ban on cattle from Texas.
“Another part of the uncertainty about NWS is the continued closure of the Mexican border,” Peel says. “It is uncertain if the fact of NWS in the U.S. will change political decisions regarding the status of border. The market will continue to wait for news about when the border might open. Once again, the impacts are more related to the uncertainty than the reality. When it happens, opening the border will likely be a deliberate and relatively slow process…”