Live Cattle futures firmed and mostly gained Tuesday, while Feeder Cattle futures continued to unwind with long position liquidation.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 71¢ higher, except for an average of 54¢ lower in the front two contracts. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $9.61 lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from limited on moderate demand in Nebraska to mostly inactive on light to moderate demand elsewhere through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. Although too few to trend, there were some FOB live trades in Nebraska at $228-$230/cwt.
Established FOB live prices so far this week are $230 in the North with dressed delivered trades in Nebraska at $355-$360.
Last week, FOB live prices in the Southern Plains were $238. Dressed delivered prices in the western Corn Belt last week were $372 in a light test.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.77 higher Tuesday afternoon at $379.65/cwt. Select was $1.66 lower at $360.00.
Grain and Soybean futures were higher again Tuesday on speculation the U.S. will ink a deal with China.
Toward the close and through Jly contracts, Corn futures were fractionally higher to 3¢ higher. KC HRW Wheat 5¢ to 6¢ higher. Soybean futures were 7¢ to 9¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Tuesday, led by tech stocks and supported by positive quarterly corporate earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 161 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 15 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 190 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 54¢ to $1.16 lower through the front six contracts.
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There was no October monthly Cattle on Feed report, which was supposed to be published last Friday but wasn’t due to the government shutdown. However, analysts did release pre-report estimates.
On average, analysts pegged the Oct. 1 cattle on feed inventory to be 1.9% less year over year, roughly 11.38 million head, according to the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC).
Analysts estimated September feedlot placements at about 1.97 million head which would be 8.6% less year over year. Projected September marketings were approximately 1.63 million head, about 0.4% less year over year.
LMIC analysts point out the October report would have shed some light on the quarterly mix of steers and heifers on feed.
“This is not a value forecasted and published among pre-report estimates,” LMIC analysts explain, in the latest Livestock Monitor. “The last time this value was published was in the July report, which at the time had the contribution of steers-to-heifers at about 1.6 steers to every heifer on feed. For context, since roughly 2019, this ratio ranged between 1.5 to 1.7 steers per heifer, which is very low compared to the last two decades.
“During the last major trough and expansion event from early 2012 to mid-2015, the ratio moved from 1.6 to over 2.2 steers per heifer. Recently, minor reductions in heifers on feed have occurred, but uncertainty will remain without this data.”