Market News

Feeder cattle futures close sharply higher Tuesday

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle were mixed ahead of the week’s direct business, while feeders were sharply higher thanks to technical buying. April live was down $.22 at $194.02 and June was $.05 lower at $190.40. March feeders were up $3.37 at $269.72 and April was $2.67 higher at $269.10.

Tuesday was a quiet day for cash cattle country as bids and asking prices still haven’t been established. Significant trade volume will likely be delayed until the second half of the week. Last week’s business was light and could be called scattered, at best.  Deals in the North were marked at $320 to $322 dressed, that’s $5 to $7 lower than the previous week’s weighted averages.  Live deals in the South were at $202 to $203, $3 to $4 lower than the prior week’s weighted average basis.

Inclement weather has played a factor in sale barn activity already this week, and that will likely continue as several barns across the country have canceled sales this week.

At the Tri-State Livestock Auction in Nebraska on Monday, there weren’t enough feeder steers and heifers to show a comparison to last week. Big cattle showed a lower trend. USDA says demand was moderate to good, and total receipts were down from week and year-ago levels. Feeder supply included 51% steers and 96% of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 973 pounds brought $253.25. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 855 pounds sold for $248.75.

Boxed beef closed mixed with Choice up $.07 at $315.77 and Select down $2.52 at $303.71. The Choice/Select spread was $12.06.

Estimated cattle slaughter was 118,000 head – down 4,000 on the week and down more than 6,500 on the year.

Lean hog futures were up modestly on technical support, but gains were limited by the midday drop in pork. April was $.60 at $93.20 and May was $.45 higher at $96.87.

Cash hogs were steady to higher with solid closing negotiated numbers at the major direct markets. Buyers at those major direct markets had to raise bids after not moving a whole lot of ready numbers on Monday. Weather is expected to have an impact on movement in some areas for much of this week. Wholesale demand has shown some signs of improvement, but remains largely inconsistent, and there are concerns exports could be limited by tariffs.

Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct were up $2.28 with a base range of $84 to $93.50. The Iowa/Minnesota was up $1.43 with a weighted average of $92.21. The Western Corn Belt was $1.66 higher with a weighted average of $92.21. The Eastern Corn Belt was not reported due to confidentiality.

Butcher hogs at the Midwest cash markets were steady on Tuesday. Barrows and gilts were priced at $62, sows ranged from $62 to $68, and boars were marked at $20.

At Illinois, barrows and gilts are $3 higher at $51 to $61; slaughter sows are $4 higher at $57 to $69; boars are marked at $15 to $30.

Pork values closed lower – down $3 at $99.47. Ribs were fractionally higher. Bellies were sharply lower. Hams, picnics, butts, and loins were lower.

Estimated hog slaughter was 490,000 head – down a thousand on the week and up nearly 500 on the year.