Contrary to shoot-from-the-hip reactions Friday, March’s feedlot placement rate in the USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report Friday may be considered bearish to futures prices Monday. The placement rate fell below pre-report expectations by analysts in a survey by Urner Barry, but when placed against the 2015-2019 average, it was nothing special. And the weight … Read More
Frozen Red Meat Supplies Down; Poultry Stocks Mixed
Total red meat supplies in US freezers on March 31 were down about 6% from a month earlier and down about 17% from last year, the USDA said in its monthly Cold Storage report Thursday. Total frozen poultry supplies on March 31 were up slightly from a month earlier but were down about 17% from … Read More
Western US Very Dry; Production Capabilities Questioned
The weekly drought monitor map shows large portions of the western half of the contiguous 48 states to be experiencing exceptional drought conditions currently, calling into question cropping and livestock-producing capabilities this year. The US Drought Monitor is produced through a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the US … Read More
Oil Prices, US Consumer Spending, An Evolving Link: Bank
The link between US consumer spending and oil prices isn’t concrete, tending to evolve over the last 20 years, according to a study done and published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. There are two main channels through which oil price changes affect consumer spending, the bank said. The overall effect of these … Read More
Canada Cattle On Feed Near Steady
The number of cattle on feed in Alberta and Saskatchewan on April 1 continued a nearly level monthly 2021 total, according to data from CanFax a private market advisory firm. CanFax surveys member feedlots in the two provinces and shares some of its data with the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver who processes it … Read More
Funds Prune Long Cattle Position; Get Longer Corn
Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, pruned their collective net long live cattle position in the week ended Tuesday as hedgers also trimmed their total net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders Report Friday, which summarizes the changes to the weekly trading positions of trader … Read More
Federal Reserve: Farm Loan Demand Still Muted
Farm loan demand remained muted at commercial banks in the first quarter of 2021, said the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in a release citing the result of a quarterly survey. A reduction in the volume of operating loans led to an overall decline in total non-real estate lending, the bank said. Financing activity … Read More