Market News

Cattle, hog futures higher heading into Friday

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were up, watching direct business develop. February live cattle closed $2.10 higher at $224 and April live cattle closed $1.77 higher at $225.17.  January feeder cattle closed $4.72 higher at $336.57 and March feeder cattle closed $3.92 higher at $329.72. 

There was a light round of direct cash cattle trade on Thursday. Dressed deals in the North were marked at $340 to $345, which is $11 to $16 higher than the prior week’s weighted averages.  A few live deals in Iowa were marked at $222.  Look for more business to develop over the balance of the week.

At the Huss Livestock Market in Nebraska, compared to two weeks ago, steers weighing less than 600 pounds were steady to $25 higher and steers weighing more than 600 pounds were steady to $12 higher.  Heifers weighing less than 600 pounds were $20 to $40 higher and heifers weighing more than 600 pounds were steady to $15 higher.  The USDA says demand was good to very good from buyers in house.  Most of the consignments had received fall vaccinations.   Receipts were down on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 51 percent steers and 58 percent of the offering weighed more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 550 to 590 pounds brought $412 to $441 and feeder steers 661 to 688 pounds brought $378 to $402.50.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 557 to 598 pounds brought $369 to $390 and feeder heifers 875 to 897 pounds brought $395 to $305.

Boxed beef closed lower with light demand for solid offerings.  Choice was $1.09 lower at $362.72 and Select was $2.80 lower at $350.32.  The Choice/Select spread was $12.40. Estimated cattle slaughter was 121,000 head, up more than 3,000 on the year.

Lean hog futures closed higher on technical support. February lean hogs closed $.85 higher at $81.85 and April lean hogs closed $1.05 higher at $85.77. 

Cash hogs closed mixed with a moderate negotiated run.  Processors had a couple of solid days of business and were more aggressive in their procurement efforts.   There still is a lot of uncertainty lingering around demand, both on the global market and domestically. The lack of up-to-date trade information, has the market searching for any data to help it find direction.  The industry continues to monitor the availability of market-ready hogs and hog weights, which are typically higher this time of year.  Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $.56 higher with a base range of $68 to $74 and a weighted average of $72.65; the Western Corn Belt closed $1.96 lower with a weighted average of $70.92; the Eastern Corn Belt closed $1.18 higher with a weighted average of $72.67.  Prices at the Iowa/Minnesota were not reprotred due to confidentiality.

Butcher hog prices in Dorchester, Wisconsin are steady at $60 and prices at Red Oak, Iowa were lower at $45 to $53. 

Pork values closed lower, down $.69 at $93.33.  Bellies were sharply lower.  Butts, ribs, and loins were all lower.  Picnics were firm and hams were up. Estimated hog slaughter was 490,000 head – up more than 17,000 on the year.