Market News

Cattle futures lower to start the week

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle closed lower on fund selling ahead of widespread direct business. October live cattle closed $1.42 lower at $217.45 and December live cattle closed $1.35 lower at $220.80.  October feeder cattle closed $3.02 lower at $331.90 and November feeder cattle closed $2.70 lower at $329.27. 

Direct cash cattle trade activity was quiet Monday.  Bids and asking prices didn’t surface.  Showlists for the week are mixed, lower in Texas and Kansas, but higher in Nebraska.  Look for the bulk of the week’s business to hold out until sometime Thursday or Friday. 

At mid-session, at the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Missouri, compared to last week, feeder steers weighing less than 700 pounds were steady to $5 lower, with the exception of five-weight steers, which sold $5 to $20 lower.  Steers weighing more than 700 pounds were steady to $6 higher.  Feeder heifers were steady to $10 lower.  Receipts were up on the week and down on the year.  Feeder supply included 67 percent steers with 69 percent of the offering weighed more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 705 to 747 pounds brought $342 to $378 and feeder steers 859 to 891 pounds brought $320 to $330. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 603 to 646 pounds brought $335 to $356 and feeder heifers 802 to 844 pounds brought $296 to $308. 

Boxed beef closed higher with solid demand for moderate offerings.  Choice closed $1.65 higher at $380.48 and Select was $2.47 higher at $358.23.  The Choice/Select spread is $22.25. Estimated cattle slaughter was 95,000 head, down 10,000 on the week, and down more than 17,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures were mostly lower on spread adjustments amid ongoing demand uncertainty. October lean hogs closed $.02 higher at $78.25 and December lean hogs closed $.62 lower at $68.40.

Cash hogs closed mixed with a pretty light negotiated run.  The cash hog market continues to struggle to find consistent support.  Processors have been moving decent numbers in recent weeks without having to get too aggressive in their procurement efforts.  That’s resulted in a decline in prices.  The trade remains largely focused on demand and while there have been some bright spots when it comes to both global and domestic markets, there are still lingering concerns about long-term strength.  The industry is also monitoring the available supplies of market-ready hogs and hog weights. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $.27 lower with a base range of $70 to $84 and a weighted average of $78.68; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $.27 higher with a weighted average of $79.51; the Western Corn Belt closed $.24 higher with a weighted average of $79.25.  Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $60. At Illinois, slaughter sows were steady with moderate demand for light to moderate offerings at $43 to $55.  Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $53 to $63.  Boars ranged from $25 to $35 and $15 to $20. 

Pork values closed higher, up $1.06 at $87.80.  Picnics, butts, loins, hams, and ribs were higher.  Bellies were down. Estimated hog slaughter was 491,000 head, up 26,000 on the week and up about 3,000 on the year.