Cattle futures were lower Wednesday on wobbly boxed beef values and the lack of weekly cash fed cattle direction.
Heading into the close and before settlement, Live Cattle futures were an average of $1.18 lower. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $1.60 lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was at a standstill in all major cattle feeding regions through Wednesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $184/cwt. in the Southern Plains $186-$187 in Nebraska and $185-$187 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $294-$295.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.82 lower Wednesday afternoon at $296.67/cwt. Select was $4.09 lower at $288.25/cwt.
Grain futures were lower Wednesday with likely producer selling and perhaps positioning ahead of Friday’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
Heading into the close, Corn futures were 5¢ to 8¢ lower through May ‘25. Kansas City Wheat futures were mostly 10¢ to 15¢ lower through Jly ’25. Soybean were mostly 12¢ to 21¢ lower through Mar ‘25.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 172 points higher. The S&P 500 closed fractionally lower. The NASDAQ was down 29 points.
Heading into the close West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were 31¢ to 89¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Agricultural producer sentiment declined sharply in April, based on the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. If fell 15 points from March to 99, the lowest since June 2022.
Worries about current financial situation on farms and ranches, and anticipated financial challenges in the coming year, drove the decline. The Current Condition Index dropped by 18 points to 83, while the Future Expectations Index fell by 14 points to 106.
“Farmers’ sentiment took a significant hit in April, reflecting broader concerns about financial performance and farmland values,” explains James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
The Farm Financial Performance Index declined to 76 in April, which was 7 points less than the previous month and 21 points less than last fall’s peak of 97. The decline reflects producers’ increasing concerns about the upcoming year’s financial outlook, according to Ag Barometer analysts, with fewer respondents expecting better or equal performance than last year.
The April Ag Economy Barometer survey was conducted from April 8-12, 2024.