USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report on Friday with placements in January, the most difficult category to predict and the only category to differ significantly from the pre-report expectations, coming in near the high point of the range of estimates.
Also, total inventory – which was the fourth highest for February – was slightly higher (43,000 head) than a year ago, and marketings were slightly lower (2,000 head) than a year ago. The report did place some pressure on futures, which opened lower on Monday morning. With January placements above expectations – after coming in right at the pre-report estimate in December – the market is back in the pattern of the LH 2023. During that period, p...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
