Market News

Live cattle, hog futures finish the week lower

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were lower, feeders were mixed waiting on direct business ahead of the long holiday weekend.  October live cattle closed $1.35 lower at $212.95 and December live cattle closed $1.40 lower at $214.72.  October feeder cattle closed $.95 lower at $320.15 and November feeder cattle closed $.57 lower at $314.72. 

Direct cash cattle trade was pretty quiet for the most part Friday.  For the week, Dressed business in the North was at $344 to $345, steady to $1 lower than the prior week’s weighted averages.  Live deals in the South had a wide range, from $219 to $223, which is $3 lower to $1 higher than the previous week’s business. 

At the Apache Livestock Auction in Oklahoma, feeder steers weighing  less than 700 pounds were $10 lower.  Feeder heifers weighing less than 650 pounds were steady to $10 lower and feeder heifers weighing more than 650 pounds were $3 to $6 higher.  Steer calves and heifer calves were $10 to $20 lower.  The USDA says quality was good to attractive with good demand.  Receipts were down on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 55 percent steers with 46 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 618 to 643 pounds brought $327.50 to $384.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 662 to 693 pounds brought $309 to $315. 

Boxed beef closed mixed with light and heavy demand for moderate offerings.  Choice was $.73 lower at $376.17 and Select was $5.15 higher at $355.87.  The Choice/Select spread is $20.30. Estimated cattle slaughter was 97,000 head, down 6,000 on the week and down more than 22,000 on the year.  Saturday’s estimated kill is 17,000 head, down 7,000 on the week and up more than 10,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures closed lower on technical selling and demand uncertainty.  October lean hogs closed $1.15 lower at $82.30 and December lean hogs closed $1.45 lower at $72.47. 

Cash hog prices were not reported due to confidentiality with just a handful of negotiated purchases.  The slow finish ot the week for the cash hog market wasn’t a big surprise.  Processors pulled back in their procurement efforts, likely because they had needed numbers in hand ahead of the long holiday weekend.  The industry continues to monitor the availability of market-ready hogs and hog weights as it relates to demand.  While there continues to be some bright spots in both global and domestic markets, there are still lingering concerns about long-term demand strength. The five-day rolling average for barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct is $90.15; it’s $89.55 for the Iowa/Minnesota; it’s $89.53 for the Western Corn Belt.

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are $6 lower at $60. At Illinois, slaughter sows were steady with moderate demand for light 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 higher, up $1.74 at $92.86.  Bellies jumped more than $12 Friday.  Picnics and ribs were also sharply higher.  Butts were up.  Hams and loins were lower. Estimated hog slaughter was 424,000 head, down 23,000 on the week and down more than 48,000 on the year.  Saturday’s estimated kill is 19,000 head, down 10,000 on the week and down more than 364,000 on the year.