Market News

Live cattle, hog futures lower to finish the week

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were down, feeders were mixed waiting for widespread direct business to develop. April live cattle closed $.02 lower at $240.62 and June live cattle closed $.10 lower at $236.15.  March feeder cattle closed $.42 higher at $366.15 and April feeder cattle closed $.17 lower at $363.45. 

A light round of direct cash cattle trade took place Friday.  Dressed deals in parts of Nebraska were at mostly $382, $4 higher than the previous week’s weighted average basis in Nebraska. Live deals in the North were at $248, which is $4 higher than the prior week’s business.   

At the Apache Livestock Auction in Oklahoma, feeder steers were $2 to $10 higher.  Feeder heifers were mostly $3 to $4 lower.  Steer calves weighing less than 400 pounds were $10 lower and weighing more than 400 pounds were steady to $10 higher.  The USDA says quality was good to attractive and there was good demand for the offerings.  Receipts were up on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 57 percent steers with 60 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 652 to 696 pounds brought $380 to $420 and feeder steers 813 to 846 pounds brought $350 to $365.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 553 to 593 pounds brought $387.50 to $423 and feeder heifers 607 to 640 pounds brought $370 to $420. 

Boxed beef closed mixed with light to moderate demand for light offerings.  Choice was $.37 lower at $364.47 and Select was $.39 higher at $363.42.  The Choice/Select spread was $1.05. Estimated cattle slaughter was 86,000 head, up 1,000 on the week and down nearly 17,000 on the year.  Saturday’s estimated kill is 1,000 head – even on the week and down nearly 5,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures were lower, pressured by technical selling, long-term demand concerns, and lower pork values during the session. April lean hogs closed $.55 lower at $91.27 and May lean hogs closed $.75 lower at $95.30. 

Cash hogs closed lower with a light negotiated run.  The cash hog market had a sluggish end to the week.  Processors have leverage and are able to move needed numbers without having to get too aggressive in their procurement efforts.  There are long-term concerns about demand strength in both global and domestic markets.  The industry is also monitoring supplies of market-ready hogs, which are ample, and hog weights, which are still above year-ago levels. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $1.73 lower with a base range of $80 to $88 and a weighted average of $85.22; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $1.22 lower with a weighted average of $86.10; the Western Corn Belt closed $.88 lower with a weighted average of $86.10.  Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality. 

According to the USDA’s Weekly Feeder Pig report, early-weaned pigs and feeder pigs were steady to firm.  Trade has been slow to moderate with moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings.  The weighted average for early-weaned pigs was $90.54 and the weighted average for all feeder pigs was $124.19. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at midday at $66. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were $2 higher with moderate demand for light offerings at $49 to $61.  Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $45 to $55.  Boars ranged from $8 to $15 and $5 to $8.

Pork values closed lower, down $.49 at $95.16.  Ribs, picnics, butts, loins, and bellies were all lower.  Hams were higher. Estimated hog slaughter was 446,000 head, down 44,000 on the week and down more than 31,000 on the year.  Saturday’s estimated kill is 129,000 head, down 69,000 on the week and up more than 34,000 on the year.