USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; the consensus pre-report analysts’ estimate is for the inventory of cattle on feed as of 1 August to be 100 percent of last year. July placements and marketing are expected to be 104 and 108 percent respectively of last year’s totals.
The estimate for placements reflects not so much a large, anticipated number of cattle put into feed yards last month, but the low level placed in July 2023. A better gauge is to look at actual head placed in July historically. July 2023 saw the lowest placements since 2016 and the estimate for 2024 is 95 percent of 2022 and 98.5 percent of the 2021-2023 three-year average.
Placements last July were 92 percent of the year before, but...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...
