Negotiated cash fed cattle trade picked up steam Wednesday in both volume and price. Live sales were steady to $10 higher at $120/cwt. in the Southern Plains and mainly $120 in Nebraska. Dressed sales were steady to $10 higher at mostly $180-$190 in Nebraska and at mostly $190 in the western Corn Belt.
Cattle feeders offered 2,782 head in the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange auction, but there were no sales.
Cattle futures ended lower, though, amid recently declining wholesale beef values and perhaps with some positioning ahead of the long weekend and Friday’s monthly Cattle on Feed report.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $1.20 lower (37¢ lower in spot Jun to $1.50 lower).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.42 lower ($1.42 lower in spot May to $2.92 lower).
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $5.43 lower Wednesday afternoon at $404.04/cwt. Select was $2.31 higher at $391.18.
After 1¢ lower in the front two contracts, Corn futures closed mostly fractionally higher.
Soybean futures closed mostly 3¢ to 4¢ higher through Aug ’21 and then mostly 1¢ higher.
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