Market News

Cattle showlists are generally steady

The cattle market was not established on Monday afternoon with bids and asking prices poorly defined. New showlists appear to be mixed but generally steady with last week. A few showlists have been priced around 167.00 to 168.00 in the South and 266.00 to 268.00 in the North. The kill totaled 109,000 head, 5,000 more than last week, but 7,000 below last year.

Boxed beef cutout values were higher on moderate demand and light offerings. Choice beef was up .90 at 251.70 and select was .91 higher at 247.62.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled unchanged to 37 points higher. The initial buyer support in the live cattle complex turned into a moderate selloff due to pressure in the feeder cattle complex. Support came from significantly higher boxed beef values at midday. April was down .12 at 162.50 and June was unchanged at 152.97.

Feeder cattle ended the session mostly lower. The initial buyer interest was quickly offset by aggressive selling pressure however futures did rebound off the day’s lows. April settled .65 lower at 218.60, and May was down .67 at 217.45.

Feeder cattle receipts at the Joplin Regional Stockyards totaled 5,000 head on Monday. Compared to last week, steer and heifer calves were steady to 5.00 higher. Yearling steers were 2.00 to 3.00 higher, yearling heifers trended steady on a limited test. The demand was good on a moderate supply. 500 to 600 pound feeder steers averaged 266.50 to 295.00. 5 to 6 weight heifers averaged 229.00 to 259.00.

Lean hogs settled 2 to 182 points higher. There was moderate buyer support across the complex. There was moderate pressure in the nearby contracts while deferred issues remained solidly rooted. Traders continued to adjust positions following Friday’s hogs and pigs report, while the focus in nearby contracts once again moved back to abundant supplies of hogs near term. April up .17 at 61.30, and May was up .02 at 68.20.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed .74 higher at 56.62 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West was up .61 at 56.44, and the East was not reported due to confidentiality. Missouri direct base carcass meat price was steady to 1.00 lower from 50.00 to 53.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis were steady to 1.00 to 2.00 lower 33.00 to 42.00.

The pork carcass cutout value FOB plant was .04 higher at 65.39.

The March 1 hogs and pigs report released late last week confirmed smaller than expected herd expansion with the kept for breeding total only 2% greater than last year versus an average trade guess of up 3.5%. Furthermore, the winter pig crop turned out to be slightly smaller than expected. Finally, spring and summer farrowing intentions were all officially estimated below average trade ideas especially relative to June through August.

The Monday hog kill was estimated at 435,000 head, 1,000 more than last week, and 38,000 greater than last year.

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