Market News

Live cattle futures mixed to start the week

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle closed mixed, and feeders ended the day higher watching corn and waiting for direct business to develop.  June live cattle closed $.05 higher at $115.35 and August lives closed $.40 lower at $118.42.  May feeder cattle closed $.37 higher at $137.92 and August feeder closed $1.60 higher at $152.75. 

Direct cash cattle trade activity started the week quietly.  There were a few deals reported in parts of Kansas and Iowa at $119 to $120 live.  That’s certainly not enough to start a trend.  Showlists this week are mixed – higher in Kansas, somewhat lower in Nebraska/Colorado, and lower in Texas.  Look for significant trade volume to develop midweek or later. 

At the Oklahoma National Stockyards, compared to last week feeder steers steady to $2 lower.  Feeder heifers were steady.  Steer calves were $4 to $5 lower and heifer calves were steady.  The USDA says quality was average to attractive and demand was good.  Feeder supply included 58 percent steers and 76 percent of the offering was over 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 751 to 796 pounds brought $129 to $143.25 and feeder steers 850 to 896 pounds brought $126 to $139.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 715 to 748 pounds brought $125 to $130 and feeder heifers 800 to 846 pounds brought $115 to $137. 

Boxed beef closed sharply higher on good demand for moderate offerings.  Choice closed $2.68 higher at $319.62 and Select closed $3.70 higher at $296.89. Estimated cattle slaughter is 115,000 head – up 3,000 on the week and up 17,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures ended the day mostly lower, pressured by the lower cash trade and shrugging the sharply higher pork trade during the session.  June lean hogs closed $.07 lower at $108.65 and July lean hogs closed $.05 lower at $108.95. 

Cash hogs closed mixed with a moderate negotiated run.  Packers have been aggressive in their procurement efforts while keeping an eye on the availability of market-ready barrows and gilts.  Strong demand has been very supportive to prices overall and the industry expects that to continue.  However, should a disruption occur, it would likely send prices tumbling.  Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $2.15 lower with a base range of $103 to $119 and a weighted average of $110.10; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $.48 higher with a weighted average of $117.47; the Western Corn Belt closed $.09 lower with a weighted average of $117.44.  Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported at midday due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash market are steady with last week at $80. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were steady to $1 lower with moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $47 to $58.  Barrow and gilt prices were steady with good demand for heavy offerings at $75 to $79.  Boars ranged from $40 to $45 and $15 to $20. 

Pork values closed $.87 higher at $116.57.  Ribs and butts were sharply higher.  Bellies were higher.  Hams and loins were firm.  Picnics were lower. Estimated hog slaughter is 478,000 head – down 5,000 on the week and up 83,000 on the year.