Market News

Beef and pork values close lower

Cattle country was relatively quiet on Friday afternoon following a light trade in the North in the morning, with dressed deals marked steady to $1.00 higher than Thursday from 265.00 to 266.00, live sales at 170.00. Business was essentially done for the week. Southern deals came in at mostly 170.00, 5.00 to 6.00 higher than the previous week and set new record highs. The weekly kill totaled 576,000 head, 11,000 more than the previous week, but 43,000 less than 2013.

Boxed beef cutout values were lower on moderate demand and moderate to heavy offerings. Choice beef was down 2.02 at 247.41, and select was .93 lower at 232.71.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 80 to 230 points lower. Light to moderate gains started the trading session on Friday, but the support was not able to hold as the day progressed. Traders quickly gave back gains, with most contracts ending with triple digit losses. October settled .80 lower at 168.25, and December was down 2.20 at 166.90.

Feeder cattle ended the session 175 to 240 in the red. After the cash market support seemed to clear the market, traders began to focus on the cattle on feed report. The fear that a strong bounce in placements will move the focus over the already fact that supplies remain tight, and on concerns of an overbought market like has been seen over the last couple of weeks. October down 2.32 at 237.90, and November was 2.05 lower at 234.65.

Feeder cattle receipts at Missouri auctions this week totaled 28.892 head. Compared to the previous week, feeder steers and heifers traded steady to 5.00 lower. The feeder supply was moderate to good. There was a good mixture of steers from calves to yearlings. In the Southern region of Missouri, an unseasonably large run of feeder cattle was offered. Demand for feeders remains good to very good. 934 head of feeder steers medium and large 1 with an average weight of 523 pounds averaged 280.90 per hundredweight. 403 feeder heifers weighing 526 pounds traded at 233.98.

Lean hogs settled .25 lower to 1.25 higher. Traders in the December and February contracts concentrated on position squaring ahead of the weekend break the thinly traded contracts in the fourth quarter of 2015 showed some additional price support. December settled 1.52 higher at 90.25 and February was up 1.42 at 88.87.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.70 lower at 89.17 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West was down 1.47 at 89.13, and the East was not reported due to confidentiality. Missouri direct base carcass meat price was 2.00 to 3.00 lower from 79.00 to 89.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis were lightly tested at steady prices from 65.00 to 74.00.

The pork carcass cutout value FOB plant was 2.29 lower at 98.25. Only bellies were higher.

Follow through pressure in both pork cutout values and hog prices at the end of the week are adding even more concern about the ability of the lean hog market to stabilize over the near term. Even at the lower prices, it has become difficult for wholesale sales to increase due to the expectation that even more product will be available in the future. 

The weekly hog kill was estimated at 2,141,000 head 46,000 less than last week and down 19,000 from last year.