Market News

Cattle futures lower watching direct trade

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were lower watching direct business develop.  August live cattle closed $.95 lower at $239.65 and October live cattle closed $1.45 lower at $230.87.  August feeder cattle closed $3.12 lower at $348.42 and September feeder cattle closed $3.55 lower at $345.12. 

There was a very light round of direct cash cattle trade that took place Tuesday.  Live deals in Texas were at $255, but it wasn’t enough business to establish an accurate price trend for the week.  Bids were floated at $255 live in the South.  Asking prices have been slow to surface.  Look for more trade to develop over the balance of the week.   

At the Tina Livestock Market Auction in Missouri, steer and heifer calves sold with a moderate supply and traded unevenly steady.  Feeder steers weighing more than 650 pounds were mostly steady.  Feeder heifers weighing more than 650 pounds had no comparison.  Receipts were up from the most recent sale, but down slightly on the year.  Feeder supply included 54 percent steers with 52 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 600 to 617 pounds brought $442.50 to $456 and feeder steers 925 pounds brought $344.50.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 650 to 673 pounds brought $388 to $391. 

Boxed beef closed solidly higher with strong demand for moderate offerings.  Choice is up $1.24 at $394.07 and Select closed $1.72 higher at $384.81.  The Choice/Select spread is $9.26.  Estimated cattle slaughter was 110,000 head, down 1,000 on the week and down more than 9,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures finished the day higher on oversold signals, with support from cash and wholesale values.  July lean hogs closed $1.80 higher at $101.65 and August lean hogs closed $1.37 higher at $98.97. 

Cash hogs closed higher with a decent negotiated run.  Processors were much more aggressive in their procurement efforts Tuesday.  Demand for US pork on the global market has had some bright spots recently, but there are lingering concerns about long-term strength.  The return of summer grilling season creates some opportunity to boost domestic demand as pork remains a competitively priced protein in the retail space.  Supplies of market-ready hogs have been ample and hog weights are still above year-ago levels. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct are $1.71 higher with a base range of $92 to $96 and a weighted average of $95.57.  Prices at the Regional Direct Markets were not reported due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $62.  At Illinois, slaughter sows were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $47 to $59.  Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $49 to $59.  Boars ranged from $8 to $15 and $5 to $8. 

Pork values closed higher, up $.84 at $94.12.  Bellies were sharply higher.  Ribs and hams were also up.  Picnics were sharply lower, while loins and butts were down.  Estimated hog slaughter was 487,000 head, up 19,000 on the week and up about 10,000 on the year.