Cattle futures closed higher Thursday, helped along by lower Corn futures through much of the session, firm to stronger cash fed cattle prices and likely anticipation of a bullish Cattle on Feed report. The trend continued through mid-day on Friday.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.79 higher.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 78¢ higher.
Corn futures closed mixed, from fractionally higher to 2¢ higher through Jul ’23 then 1¢ to 3¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed mostly 10¢ to 22¢ lower through Aug’24, then down 2¢ to 5¢.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was slow to moderate on moderate demand in Kansas through Thursday afternoon with prices mostly $1 higher at $151/cwt., but a few up to $152, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Elsewhere, trade was slow on light demand. So far this week, established live prices are steady to $1 higher in the Texas Panhandle at $150-$151, steady in Nebraska at $153 and steady to $1 lower in the western Corn Belt at $153. Dressed prices are steady at $240-$242.
Choice Boxed beef cutout value was 1¢ higher Thursday afternoon at $257.10/cwt. Select was 39¢ higher at $231.74/cwt.
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Rising bond yields pressured major financial indices on Thursday. They were treading water through mid-day Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 8 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 12 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 39 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $2.46 to $3.94 lower through the front six contracts.
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Based on actual and estimated slaughter for October, weekday fed cattle slaughter was almost 1% more than last year and cow slaughter was up about 5%.
“With the poor pasture and higher operating costs than last year, beef cow slaughter is expected to remain higher than previously assumed through the end of the year,” say analysts with USDA’s Economic Research Service, in the latest Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. “In addition, anticipated fed cattle marketings were raised on a relatively strong pace of fed cattle slaughter through early November, as well as relatively high numbers of 150-plus-day cattle in feedlots. As a result, the beef production forecast for fourth-quarter 2022 was raised by 215 million lbs. on higher expected total cattle slaughter, along with slightly heavier carcass weights.”
The 2023 beef production forecast was lowered by 90 million lbs to 26.3 billion lbs., more than 7% below the 2022 projection.