Cattle futures continued lower Thursday with follow-through pressure including negative outside markets, oversold conditions and perhaps some month-end profit taking.
Heading into the close and before settlement, Live Cattle futures were an average of 75¢ lower. Feeder Cattle were an average of 78¢ lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from light on light demand to mostly inactive on light demand through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. Although too few to trend, there some early FOB live trades in the Southern Plains at $186/cwt.
Last week, FOB live prices were $187 in the Southern Plains, $192 in Nebraska and $190-$192 in the western Corn Belt.
Dressed delivered prices were $304 in Nebraska and $302-$304 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 42¢ higher Thursday afternoon at $314.04/cwt. Select was 4¢ lower at $302.52/cwt.
Grain futures closed lower again Thursday as traders pondered the improved planting and weather outlook.
Heading into the close Tuesday, through Jly ‘25, Kansas City Wheat futures were 6¢ to 10¢ lower. Corn futures were 6¢ to 8¢ lower. Soybean futures mostly 5¢ to 7¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices continued to chop lower Thursday with continued concerns about sticky inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 330 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 31 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 183 points.
Heading toward the close West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were $1.10 to $1.33 lower through the front six contracts.
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U.S. beef exports for this year were forecast at $9.1 billion in USDA’s latest quarterly Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade. That was $200 million more than the previous quarter’s estimate. The increase was based on slightly more volume and firm demand.
Overall U.S. agricultural exports in fiscal year (FY) 2024 were projected at $170.5 billion, unchanged from the February forecast with higher exports of livestock, dairy and ethanol mostly offsetting reductions in grains and feeds, oilseeds, and horticultural products.
For broader perspective, global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to rise by 3.2% in calendar year (CY) 2024, which was slightly higher than the previous forecast.
“Global economic growth continues to increase but at a slow rate, in part, due to a stagnation of global trade growth in 2023 and early 2024,” say USDA analysts. “Despite the slow progress, this steady growth marks a continued sign of resilience following the economic turmoil from 2020 through 2022. Nevertheless, several potential barriers to sustained economic growth persist including the war in Ukraine, intensifying conflicts in the Middle East, China’s economic uncertainty, and shifting weather patterns.”
U.S. GDP was forecast 0.6% higher than the previous estimate at 2.7%.
“This growth is buoyed by robust consumer spending notwithstanding factors leading to more subdued growth, such as declines in business inventories, Federal Government purchases, business investment, and investment in residential property,” say USDA analysts.