Market News
Cattle futures close sharply higher waiting for another round of direct business
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were up sharply, expecting another round of steady to higher cash business. February live cattle closed $3.00 higher at $200.05 and April live cattle closed $2.45 higher at $199.77. March feeder cattle closed $5.82 higher at $273.07 and April feeders closed $4.82 higher at $271.30.
It was another pretty quiet day for direct cash cattle trade activity. There were a handful of live deals reported in the South at $201.50 to $202, that’s slightly more than Tuesday’s business and the previous week’s weighted averages.
At the Philip Livestock Auction in South Dakota, there was no recent price comparison. The USDA says demand was very good for the large offering of very high quality feeder steers and heifers. There were many long strings offered with many full and load lots. Buyers were working to make full feedyard pens of uniform cattle. The market was very active. Flesh was light to moderate and the cattle were attractive. Receipts were up on the year. Feeder supply included 55% steers and 81% of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 651 to 670 pounds brought $306 to $328 and feeder steers 713 to 747 pounds brought $285 to $311.50. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 601 to 624 pounds brought $296 to $319 and feeder heifers 704 to 735 pounds brought $268 to $297.
Boxed beef closed lower with light demand for solid offerings. Choice is $.03 lower at $332.02 and Select was $1.56 lower at $317.99. The Choice/Select spread is $14.03. Estimated cattle slaughter was 124,000 head – even on the week and down about 1,000 on the year
Lean hog futures ended the day higher with sharply higher cash business during the session. February lean hogs closed $.27 higher at $81.47 and April lean hogs closed $.57 higher at $87.27.
Cash hogs closed higher with a solid negotiated run. Strong demand for U.S. pork on the global market has been hugely supportive to the hog market. But there are concerns that it could be hampered in the coming weeks as President Trump has said he will implement tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China by February 1st. Any disruption to global demand could pressure prices. The industry continues to watch available supplies of market-ready hogs and hog weights, which did pull back slightly for the week. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $1.51 higher with a base range of $76 to $83.50 and a weighted average of $81.26; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $2.00 higher with a weighted average of $81.78; the Western Corn Belt closed $1.94 higher with a weighted average of $81.78. Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality.
Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $55. At Illinois, slaughter sows prices were $3 higher with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $40 to $51. Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $46 to $56. Boars ranged from $20 to $30 and $15 to $25.
Pork values closed lower – down $.65 at $90.17. Loins, butts, picnics, and bellies were all lower. Hams and ribs were higher. Estimated hog slaughter was 444,000 head – down 40,000 on the week and down about 45,000 on the year.
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