Cattle futures gained Thursday, with steady to stronger cash fed cattle prices and higher wholesale beef values.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 66¢ higher. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $1.16 higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from slow on light demand to moderate on moderate demand through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
So far this week, FOB live prices are steady to $1 higher in Kansas at $186-$187/cwt. and steady in the North at $187. Dressed delivered prices are steady at $296.
Last week, FOB live prices were $186 in the Texas Panhandle.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.77 higher Thursday afternoon at $309.95/cwt. Select was $2.10 higher at $290.73.
Corn and soybean futures were lower Thursday with harvest pressure and more positive weather in South America. There was also likely positioning ahead of the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates due out on Friday.
Toward the close and through Sep ’25 contracts, Corn futures were 2¢ lower. Kansas City Wheat futures were 1¢ to 2¢ higher. Soybean futures were 3¢ to 6¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indexes closed slightly lower Thursday, pressured by readings of more inflation and employment weakness than expected.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2% month to month in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.4% before seasonal adjustment.
On the labor front, for the week ending October 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment insurance claims was 33,000 more than the previous week at 258,000, the highest level since August 5.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 57 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 11 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 9 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were $1.96 to $2.33 higher through the front six contracts.
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U.S. beef exports weakened toward the end of summer, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
Beef exports in August totaled 102,682 metric tons (mt), down 6% from a year earlier and the lowest since January. Export value fell 4% to $845.9 million. Through the first eight months of the year, beef exports were 3% below last year at 856,834 mt but were 4% higher in value at just under $7 billion.
“Beef demand in our major Asian markets seemed to lose a bit of momentum in August, but exports held up well to Mexico, Taiwan and the Middle East,” says Dan Halstrom, USMEF president and CEO. “The headwinds in Asia remain formidable, but we are encouraged by the region’s ongoing tourism rebound. The late-September removal of Colombia’s restrictions on U.S. beef is also a positive development. While this came too late to impact the August results, it will help bolster fourth-quarter demand in Latin America.”
U.S. beef export value equated to $391.19 per head of fed slaughter in August, down 1% from a year ago. The January-August average was $414.88 per head, up 5%.