Cash fed cattle trade on Wednesday—light trade and moderate demand—recovered the scant ground lost earlier in the week. Live prices were steady to $1 higher than last week at $120.00 to $120.50/cwt. Dressed trade was steady at $190.
Earlier in the day, sellers passed on bids of $119-$120 in the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange Auction. There were 955 head (six lots) offered for delivery at 1-9 days.
Steady to higher fed cattle prices, supported by follow-through buying helped lift Cattle futures for the second consecutive session.
Live Cattle futures closed an average 96¢ higher (72¢ to $1.42 higher).
Except for 35¢ higher in the back contract, Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.27 higher ($1.10 to $1.45 higher).
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 38¢ higher Wednesday afternoon at $209.01/cwt. Select was 1¢ lower at $188.64.
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Major financial indices settled mixed on Wednesday, after closing at record-high levels the previous day. The tech-driven NASDAQ closed higher again, supported by a deal between Amazon and a leading health technology company. Pressure across the broader market included worries about current market valuation expressed by the Federal Reserve in its most recent minutes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 64 points lower. The S&P 500 was down 1 point. The NASDAQ closed 4 points higher.
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Frozen beef stocks continued lower year over year in October, according to the latest USDA Cold Storage report. Total pounds of beef in freezers Oct. 31 were 2% more than the previous month but 5% less than last year.
Frozen pork supplies were down 3% from the previous month and down slightly from last year.
Total red meat supplies in freezers were down 1% from the previous month and down 2% from last year.
Total frozen poultry supplies were 4% less than the previous month but 12% more than a year earlier.