Market News

Cattle futures sharply lower ahead of direct business

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were sharply lower ahead of direct cattle business and Friday’s On Feed report from the USDA.  August live cattle closed $4.90 lower at $210.65 and October live cattle closed $4.35 lower at $208.55.  August feeder cattle closed $6.87 lower at $303.35 and September feeder cattle closed $6.67 lower at $302.90.   

Direct cash cattle trade activity was quiet again on Tuesday, which is pretty typical.  Bids did surface at $370 dressed in the North.  Asking prices were reported in parts of the South at $238-plus live, while the North remains quiet.  Significant trade volume isn’t expected to develop until the latter half of the week.

At the Callaway Livestock Center in Missouri, steer calves 500 to 550 pounds were steady to $7 lower, steers 600 to 700 pounds were mostly steady with spots of $8 higher on steers 650 to 700 pounds.  Heifer calves 500 to 550 pounds were steady to $4 higher and heifers 550 to 650 pounds were steady on a light offering.  The USDA says demand was good on the light to moderate supply.  The best demand was on the pot loads of yearling steers.  Receipts were down on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 72 percent steers and 55 percent of the offering weighed more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 702 to 748 pounds brought $330 to $351.50 and feeder steers 887 to 898 pounds brought $310 to $316.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 500 to 532 pounds brought $354 to $374 and feeder heifers 609 to 640 pounds brought $324 to $333.

Boxed beef closed sharply higher with solid demand for moderate offerings. Choice was $4.40 higher at $386.51 and Select was $5.07 higher at $372.54.  The Choice/Select spread is $13.97. Estimated cattle slaughter was 118,000 head, down 1,000 on the week and down nearly 3,000 on the year.

Lean hog futures followed cattle lower with additional pressure from the weakness in pork values.  July lean hogs closed $.15 lower at $111.65 and August lean hogs closed $.87 lower at $111.80.

Cash hogs closed higher with a solid negotiated run. The cash hog market continues to struggle with inconsistency.  Demand remains a bright spot, providing significant price support.  When it comes to customers on the global market, China remains a wild card.  While domestic demand has seen a boost, there’s a lot of uncertainty about how long it will hold, even as pork remains a competitively priced protein. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $3.12 higher with a base range of $101 to $113.50 with a weighted average of $109.24; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $2.02 higher with a weighted average of $109.83; the Western Corn Belt closed $2.35 higher with a weighted average of $109.92.  Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality.

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $74. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were $4 higher with moderate demand for light offerings at $53 to $70.  Barrows and gilts were $3 higher with moderate demand for light offerings at $63 to $73.  Boars ranged from $25 to $35 and $18 to $25.

Pork values closed higher, up $.41 at $119.89.  Butts, ribs, and hams were all higher.  Picnics, loins, and bellies were all lower. Estimated hog slaughter was 480,000 head – even on the week and down more than 3,000 on the year.