Grain futures gained late in Tuesday’s session, apparently on reports that Russian missiles landed in Poland, causing fatalities.
Corn futures closed mostly 4¢ to 9¢ higher and Soybean futures closed mostly 12¢ to 16¢ higher.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.84 lower. Live Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed, from an average of 15¢ lower in six contracts to an average of 27¢ higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on light demand to limited on light demand through Tuesday afternoon, with too few transactions to trend, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, live prices were $150/cwt. in the Southern Plains $153 in Nebraska and $153-$154 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed prices were $240-$242.
Choice Boxed beef cutout value was 38¢ higher Tuesday afternoon at $258.36/cwt. Select was $1.45 lower at $231.76/cwt.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Tuesday, apparently supported by another indicator that inflation may be easing.
The Producer Price Index for final demand, which reflects wholesale prices, increased 0.2% in October, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was less than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 56 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 34 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 162 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $1.05 to $1.43 higher through the front six contracts.
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Through October, approximately 765,000 more beef cows and heifers were slaughtered than the same time last year, according to Josh Maples, Extension livestock economist at Mississippi State University, in the latest Cattle Market Notes Weekly.
To get a sense of how much the beef cow herd might decline this year, Maples ran a regression analysis developed by the Livestock Marketing Information Center that looks at the relationship between beef cow and heifer slaughter during the calendar year, relative to the beef cow inventory at the start of the same calendar year.
Assuming cow and heifer slaughter for the remainder of the year is similar to last year, Maples says the regression analysis suggests the beef cow herd declining 4-5% in 2022.
“We will know more when the next Cattle Inventory report is released in January. There could also be revisions to data from prior years that could affect the year-over-year changes. Regardless, all signs point to fewer cows and heifers to calve next year and continued supply-side support for stronger cattle prices,” Maples says.
As reported in Cattle Current last week, early-release tables for USDA’s Agricultural Projections report from the Economic Research Service ERS project the beef cow inventory to be 1.1 million head fewer year over year when the new year begins at about 29 million head. That would be 3.6% less than the same time a year earlier.