After retrenching in the previous session, Cattle futures mostly gained Wednesday with expectations of higher cash prices again this week.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 81¢ higher, except for 17¢ lower in waning spot Oct.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 28¢ higher, except for unchanged to an average of 16¢ lower in three contracts.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Wednesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Live prices last week were $148/cwt. in the Southern Plains, $150-$152 in Nebraska and $150 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed prices were $236 in Nebraska and $232-$236 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice Boxed beef cutout value was 57¢ lower Wednesday afternoon at $260.86/cwt. Select was $1.25 higher at $228.60/cwt.
Corn futures closed 1¢ to 2¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed mostly 1¢ to 4¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Wednesday, weighed down by big tech stocks with lower quarterly earnings than expected from the likes of Microsoft and Alphabet.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 28 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 228 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $1.71 to $2.59 higher through the front six contracts.
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Economic conditions continue to deteriorate in rural areas a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy, as measured by the Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI).
The October RMI declined from 46.3 a month earlier to 44.2. It was the sixth decline in the past seven months, sinking below growth neutral for a fifth consecutive month. The index ranges between 0 and 100 with a reading of 50.0 representing growth neutral.
“The Rural Mainstreet economy is now experiencing a downturn in economic activity. Almost one in four bankers, or 23.1%, reported that the economy was already in a recession. Approximately, three of four bankers expect a recession to begin in 2023,” says Ernie Goss, PhD, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.
The region’s farmland price index for October declined to 58.0 from September’s 61.1 but was above growth neutral for the 25th straight month.
The slowing economy, strong energy prices, higher borrowing costs and elevated agriculture input costs pushed the business confidence index down to 30.8 from 40.7 in September. “This is the lowest reading for the confidence index since May 2020,” said Goss.