Market News

Cattle futures mixed, lean hogs closed lower

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were mixed, feeders were up waiting on direct business to develop. June live cattle closed $.67 lower at $248.52 and August live cattle closed $.30 lower at $244.45. May feeder cattle closed $.47 higher at $372.92 and August feeder cattle closed $.87 higher at $373.32.

Direct cash cattle trade activity was quiet. Showlists for the week are slightly higher in Nebraska/Colorado, and higher in Kansas and Texas. Bids and asking prices were non-existent Monday. Significant trade volume isn’t expected until late in the week.

At midsession, at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, feeder steers were steady to $5 higher. Feeder heifers were $10 to $15 higher. Steer and heifer calves were mostly steady, except 500 to 600 pound heifer calves which were up to $25 higher. The USDA says demand was very good for feeder cattle. Quality improved and cattle were average to attractive. Receipts were up on the week and the year. Feeder supply included 54 percent steers with 72 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 604 to 644 pounds brought $423 to $452 and feeder steers 850 to 877 pounds brought $344 to $369.50. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 650 to 693 pounds brought $368 to $407 and feeder heifers 702 to 741 pounds brought $347 to $387.

Boxed beef closed higher with Choice $1.02 higher at $381.92, and Select was $2.30 higher at $383.64. The Choice/Select spread was $1.72.

Estimated cattle slaughter is 107,000 head, up 9,000 on the week and down more than 5,500 on the year.

Lean hog futures finished the day lower on technical weakness and ongoing demand concerns. May lean hogs closed $.67 lower at $94.85 and June lean hogs closed $.60 lower at $103.12.

Cash hogs closed lower.

The cash hog market has struggled to find consistency in recent weeks. Processors have leverage and have been doing business at their pace. Demand for U.S. pork on the global market has had bright spots, but there are long-term concerns about its strength that linger. Domestic demand could find a boost as pork remains a competitively priced protein heading into summer grilling season.

Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct were $.32 lower with a base range of $88 to $91 with a weighted average price of $89.04. The regional markets did not report but the five-day rolling average for Iowa/Minnesota was $91.20 and Western Corn Belt was $91.08.

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets were $4 higher at $64.

At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were $1 lower with moderate demand for light to moderate offerings at $49 to $60. Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $45 to $55. Boars ranged from $8 to $15 to $5 to $8.

Pork values closed $.44. higher at $99.14. Loins, ribs, hams and bellies were higher. Picnics were lower and butts were sharply lower.

Estimated hog slaughter is 492,000 head, up 125,000 on the week and up about 7,000 on the year.