Cattle futures slid further Tuesday with technical pressure and the apparent continued exodus of fund positions. Spot contracts closed at their lowest levels since May (Feeder Cattle) and June (Live Cattle).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $5.48 lower.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $3.52 lower ($2.55 to $4.00 lower).
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from slow on light demand to a standstill in all major cattle feeding regions through Tuesday afternoon, with too few transactions to trend, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $185/cwt. in all regions and dressed delivered prices were $292.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.34 lower Tuesday afternoon at $300.38/cwt. Select was 88¢ lower at $269.48/cwt.
Soybean and grain futures closed lower with likely profit taking and positioning ahead of Thursday’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
Soybean futures closed mostly 7¢ to 10¢ lower.
Corn futures closed mostly 4¢ to 8¢ lower.
KC HRW Wheat closed mostly 10¢ to 13¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices continued higher Tuesday, led by tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 56 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 12 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 121 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $3.14 to $3.45 lower through the front six contracts.
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Agricultural producer sentiment improved slightly month to month, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. It rose 4 points to a reading of 110 in October. The Index of Current Conditions rose 3 points to 101 while the Index of Future Expectations rose 5 points to 114.
“Farmers in this month’s survey were slightly less concerned about the risk of lower prices for crops and livestock and felt somewhat better about their farms’ financial situation than a month earlier,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
The Farm Financial Performance Index rose 6 points in October, reflecting producers’ increasing optimism about their operations’ financial performance compared to the previous month.
“Reports of higher-than-expected corn and soybean yields in some Corn Belt locations, along with a modest rally in corn prices, likely contributed to this month’s rise in the financial conditions and the barometer indices,” Mintert explains.
This month’s Ag Economy Barometer survey was conducted from October 16-20, 2023.