Cattle futures extended gains Thursday.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.81 higher.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 77¢ higher.
Corn futures closed mostly fractionally lower to 1¢ lower.
KC HRW Wheat closed mostly 8¢ to 12¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed 12¢ to 16¢ lower through Aug ‘24 and then 7¢ to 9¢ lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from limited on light demand to a standstill through Thursday afternoon with too few transactions to trend, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. There were a few dressed delivered prices in Nebraska at $290/cwt.
Last week, FOB live prices were $179/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $178-$179 in Kansas, $182 in Nebraska and $183-$185 in the western Corn Belt.
Dressed delivered prices were $290-$292 in Nebraska and $290 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.91 lower Thursday afternoon at $311.56/cwt. Select was $1.44 lower at $286.17/cwt.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Thursday, following the previous session’s sharp losses tied to investor concerns about the potential for rising interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 57 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 14 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 123 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 48¢ to 67¢ lower through the front six contracts.
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U.S. beef exports softened in July, posting the lowest volume since January, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). However, export value per head of fed slaughter still exceeded $400.
July beef exports totaled 103,167 mt, down 18% from a year ago and the lowest in six months. Export value was $810.4 million, down 19% and the lowest since February.
For January through July, beef exports trailed last year’s record pace by 11% in volume (772,343 mt) and 19% in value ($5.81 billion).
“It’s definitely a challenging environment on the beef side, due in part to limited supplies but also persistent headwinds in our key Asian markets,” according to Dan Halstrom, USMEF president and CEO. “Though it’s taking longer than anticipated, we still expect a broader foodservice rebound in Asia. And some bright spots for U.S. beef include sustained demand in Taiwan, especially for alternative beef cuts, and the continued momentum in Mexico. It’s also encouraging to see per-head export value maintaining a high level. This is an important metric for gauging the returns delivered by the international markets, even when our production is trending lower.”