USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; analysts’ pre-report estimates peg the total number of cattle on feed as of 1 April at 100.3 percent of April 2021. The range of analysts’ guesses were from 99.5 percent on the low side and 100.9 on the high side. The implied inventory of cattle on feed would be 11.9 million head.
Placements are expected to be 92 percent of last year. There is consensus for a drop from last year’s levels, but the wide range of estimates doesn’t imply a lot of confidence in that number. The range extends from a low of 87 percent to a high of 96 percent. Drought and pasture conditions could be a factor with early placements in February and March, or just fewer feeder...
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...
