Market News

Hog futures higher on oversold signals

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were lower and feeders were mixed watching and waiting on direct business to develop. October live cattle closed $1.90 lower at $210.17 and December live cattle closed $1.35 lower at $212.02.  October feeder cattle closed $1.02 lower at $314.37 and November feeder cattle closed $.17 lower at $308.35. 

Direct cash cattle trade activity was relatively quiet Wednesday.  There were a handful of deals reported in Nebraska at $345 to $350 dressed, while that’s steady to higher than the previous week’s weighted averages, it’s not enough to establish an accurate price trend.  Look for more trade to develop before the end of the day Friday. 

At the Ozarks Regional Stockyards in Missouri, feeder steers and heifers were steady to $4 lower.  There were too few calves weighing less than 700 pounds to establish a market trend, but undertones were lower.  The USDA says demand was moderate on a light supply.  Heat and market instability are keeping cattle at home. Receipts were down on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 69 percent steers with 56 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 612 to 629 pounds brought $340 to $352 and feeder steers 782 to 786 pounds brought $330 to $331.50.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 594 to 598 pounds brought $320 to $325 and feeder heifers 696 pounds brought $300. 

Boxed beef closed lower and sharply lower with light demand for fairly light offerings.  Choice was $.97 lower at $378.78 and Select was $6.78 lower at $353.58.  The Choice/Select spread is $25.20. Estimated cattle slaughter was 100,000 head, down 5,000 on the week and down 22,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures closed higher on oversold signals. October lean hogs closed $.12 higher at $83.77 and December lean hogs closed $.32 higher at $74.32. 

Cash hogs closed lower with a moderate negotiated run.  Processors were able to move their needed numbers Wednesday without having to bid up.  Demand continues to play a big role in the market, and while there have been some bright spots, there are long-term concerns that linger. The industry continues to monitor the availability of market-ready hogs and hog weights. Hog weights jumped more than 2 pounds this week to 286.2 pounds, that’s also about 3.5 pounds more than year-ago levels. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $2.11 lower with a base range of $82 to $96 and a weighted average of $89.52; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $.37 lower with a weighted average of $89.33; the Western Corn Belt closed $.33 lower with a weighted average of $89.34. Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $66. At Illinois, slaughter sows were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $43 to $55.  Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $55 to $65.  Boars ranged from $22 to $32 and $10 to $13.

Pork values closed lower, down $2.28 at $95.62.  Bellies were down more than $7.  Hams, ribs, butts, and picnics were also lower.  Loins were higher.  Estimated hog slaughter was 476,000 head, even on the week and down more than 12,000 on the year.