Market News

Midday cash livestock markets

Direct cash cattle trade is scattered and light in several areas.  Live bids are reported at $107 to $108 – about $1 to $2 higher than the rest of the week’s live business.  Dressed bids are still at $169 to $170.  Asking prices for cattle remaining on showlists are around $108 live and $173 dressed.

At the Pratt Livestock Auction in Kansas, receipts are down on the week and the year.  Compared to last week’s auction, feeder steers 850 to 1000 pounds were steady to weak on a light supply.  The USDA says trade was slow and demand was light.  Feeder supply included 75 percent steers and 89 percent of the offering was over 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 850 to 900 pounds brought $144.85 to $145.10 and feeder steers, fleshy, 900 to 950 pounds brought $133.50 to $135.75.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 737 pounds brought $134 and feeder heifers 850 to 900 pounds brought $129.50 to $130.25.

Boxed beef cutout values opened weak to lower on light box movement.  Choice down $.08 at $213.16 and Select is $.83 lower at $199.83.  The Choice/Select spread is at $13.33.

Cash hogs opened steady with limited buying interest. Saturday’s estimated kill is 25,000 – if realized the weekly slaughter total should hit 2.2 million head.  This week – and next are expected to be the lowest harvest levels for summer and then slaughter totals will likely start to move higher. The market remains nervous with the large hog supply and the continued negative trade rhetoric.  Any disruption to demand would be costly to US pork producers.

Barrows and gilts at the Iowa/Southern Minnesota opened $.01 higher with a range of $68 to $78.50 with a weighted average of $77.20; the Western Corn Belt opened unchanged with a range of $68 to $78.50 for a weighted average of $77.14; the Eastern Corn Belt was not reported due to confidentiality; and the National Daily Direct opened $.31 lower with a range of $68 to $78.50 for a weighted average of $76.57.

Butcher hogs at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $57.  At the Interior Missouri Direct, receipts are up on the week and down on the year.  Barrows and gilts are steady at $69 to $70 with light supply and demand.  Sows are steady at $34 to $44.  For the week barrows and gilts are steady to $2 higher and sows are steady.  At Illinois, slaughter sow receipts are down on the week and the year.  Slaughter sow prices are $2 lower at $34 to $46 with moderate demand for moderate offerings.  Barrows and gilts are steady at $46 to $55 with moderate demand for moderate offerings.

Pork cutout values are sharply lower at the midday – down $1.02 at $86.57.  The primals are mostly lower led by the more than $7 decline in the rib.