The European Central Bank’s announcement Thursday that it intended to begin its own Quantitative Easing program in March hurt US agriculture, and it will continue to do so until it ends. Thursday, ECB President Mario Draghi surprised the world with a QE plan similar to the one the US ended last year. He said the … Read More
Cattle Feeding Margins Fall; Average Losing Money
Cattle feedlots now are losing about $3.04 on every head of slaughter-ready cattle they sell after last week’s cash price for live animals fell $5.00 per cwt. Margins dropped nearly $55 a head on the decline. The numbers come from the Sterling Profit Tracker, a weekly publication of Sterling Marketing in Vale, Ore. The latest … Read More
Feeder Steer Prices Falling; Still Well Above Year Ago
Feeder steer prices in the Southern Plains continue to fall rapidly, although they still have a long way to go before reaching year-earlier or average levels. The USDA reported feeder cattle and calves weighing more than 600 pounds were mostly $5 to $15 per cwt lower last week than the year before. In some instances, … Read More
Only Small Adjustments Made To Cattle Positions
Managed money investors and cattle producers made only small changes to their net long or short positions during the week ended Jan. 13, a week when futures prices and total open interest were dropping. In its weekly Commitments of Traders report, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reported that managed money, a proxy for large investors, … Read More
Beef Demand, Competition To Shape 2015 Market
Looking ahead to what will be important to the cattle and beef markets for the rest of 2015, a few points keep bubbling to the surface among market analysts. They likely will be themes examined and discussed time and again as the year rolls on. Stated points of interest for cattle and beef markets can … Read More
Cattle Feeding Margins Likely Dented
Cattle feeding margins may be taking a hit this week as live basis fed cattle cash prices fall as much as $6.00 per cwt, although lower corn prices could ease some of the strain. After last week’s cash cattle price jump of $2 to $4 to mostly $170.00 per cwt, cattle feeding margins jumped $43.21 … Read More
Report Pressure On Corn Overdone?
Tuesday’s drop in corn futures was linked to Monday’s USDA crop reports and disappointment that the USDA did not cut acreage more than it did, but it may have been a case of “buy the rumor, sell the fact” as some analysts say the reports should have been more price supportive. The post-report futures trade … Read More