Cattle futures closed mixed Tuesday, with modest pressure likely stemming from technicals, as well as near month-end and contract-end jockeying.
Live Cattle futures closed mixed, from an average of 25¢ higher across the front half of the board to an average of 27¢ lower.
Other than 2¢ higher in spot October and unchanged in Jan, Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 30¢ lower amid sluggish trade.
Wholesale beef values were sharply higher on good demand and moderate to heavy offerings, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.65 higher Tuesday afternoon at $230.55/cwt. Select was $2.81 higher at $203.57.
Corn futures closed mostly fractionally higher to 1¢ higher.
Soybean futures closed fractionally lower to 2¢ lower through Jul ’20 and then fractionally higher to 2¢ higher.
*******************************
Major U.S. financial indices edged Lower Tuesday, amid mixed economic news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 19 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 2 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 49 points.
*******************************
Fed cattle prices next quarter should be supported by the higher proportion of heifers on feed, says Matthew Diersen, a risk and business management specialist at South Dakota State University.
On the other side of the fence, he explains calf prices remain under pressure by the supply of feedlot-ready cattle, made larger as producers retain fewer replacements. But, that also means cyclically higher prices may be closer than originally anticipated.
“The slight increase in cow slaughter volume, coupled with fewer beef replacements, suggest that Jan. 1, 2020 cow inventory levels will be even with or slightly lower than year-earlier levels,” Diersen explains, in the latest issue of In the Cattle Markets. “The USDA baseline did not have a decline happening until 2022. A smaller 2020 calf crop would be supportive of prices next fall.”