Beef and Cattle There are signs that the bow-wave from high feed costs and the Texas drought have worked its way through the system.
First of all, after 23 months of year-on-year increases in cattle on feed inventory, last Friday's 1 May report showed 11.11 million head on feed down to 99.4 percent from the monthly total last year. Placements of 1.521 million head were well short of the previous year at 85.2 percent. Marketings were 100.4 percent of last year, essentially even with the 2011 number. Feeder cattle outside of feedlots as of 1 April were down almost 3 percent. Second, year-to-date nationwide feeder cattle auction receipts are 5.6 percent lighter than in 2011 and 9.2 percent lighter than the five-year average. Third,...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
