Cattle futures bounced higher Thursday with support from bullish outside markets and perhaps with some positioning ahead of Friday’s monthly Cattle on Feed report.

Heading into the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 94¢ higher. Feeder Cattle futures an average of $2.64 higher.

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on light demand to a standstill through Thursday afternoon, with too few transactions to trend, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.

Last week, live FOB prices were $181/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $180-$181 in Kansas, $181-$182 in Nebraska and $182-$183 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $288-$294.

Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.82 lower Thursday afternoon at $299.56/cwt. Select was $1.49 lower at $288.26.

Net 2024 U.S. beef export sales of 15,500 metric tons for the week ending Sept. 12 were 36% more than the previous week and 2% more than the prior four-week average, according to USDA’s weekly report. Increases were primarily for South Korea, China, Japan, Canada and Mexico.

Harvest pressure and anemic export sales weighed on grain futures Thursday.

Toward the close and through Jly ’25 contracts, Corn futures were 5¢ to 7¢ lower. Kansas City Wheat futures were 11¢ to 13¢ lower. Soybean futures were mostly fractionally lower to 1¢ lower.