Market News

Live cattle higher ahead of cash trade

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle closed higher and feeder cattle were mostly higher ahead of widespread direct cash business.  There was additional support from higher wholesale values.  August live cattle closed $.20 higher at $103.02 and October live cattle closed $.40 higher at $108.27.  August feeder cattle closed $.20 higher at $144.87 and September feeder cattle closed $.85 higher at $147.07. 

A quiet Monday for direct cash cattle trade.  Bids and asking prices have yet to surface.  Showlists this week are mixed, somewhat higher in Nebraska/Colorado, lower in Texas, and sharply lower in Kansas.  Look for business to improve as the week progresses. 

At Midsession at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, compared to last week feeder steers are $1 to $3 higher and feeder heifers are $2 to $3 higher in the early rounds.  Steer and heifer calves are steady on a light test. The USDA says demand has been moderate to good.  Receipts were down slightly on the week and down on the year.  Feeder supply included 57 percent steers and 78 percent of the offering is over 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 601 to 647 pounds brought $155.50 to $160 and feeder steers 763 to 780 pounds brought $142.75 to $146.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 603 to 648 pounds brought $127 to $144 and feeder heifers 718 to 746 pounds brought $128 to $137.75. 

Boxed beef closed higher on good demand for moderate offerings.  Choice closed $1.40 higher at $204.66 and Select closed $.51 higher at $190.40.  The Choice/Select spread closed at $14.26.  Estimated cattle slaughter is 113,000 head – down 4,000 on the week and 7,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures close mostly lower on spread adjustments and overall demand uncertainty.  August lean hogs closed $2.12 lower at $49.87 and October lean hogs closed $1.22 lower at $48.40. 

Cash hogs ended the day weak with moderate negotiated numbers.  The availability of market-ready barrows and gilts is more than ample.  Daily slaughter totals have been running near or above pre-COVID-19 and year-ago levels.  That’s adding more pork to the market that is faced with ongoing demand uncertainty both globally and domestically.  Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $.66 lower with a base range of $27 to $41.27 for a weighted average of $40.28; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $.51 lower for a weighted average of $40.58; the Western Corn Belt closed $.51 lower for a weighted average of $40.58.  The Eastern Corn Belt was not reported due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $24.  At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were steady with good demand for moderate offerings at $10 to $22.  Barrow and gilt prices were firm $19 to $28 with good demand for moderate to heavy offerings.  Boars ranged from $1 to $3. 

Pork values closed higher – up $1.47 at $66.78.  Bellies closed more than $8.50 higher.  Picnics, ribs, and loins were all sharply higher.  Butts closed higher.  Hams were sharply lower. Estimated hog slaughter is 425,000 head – down 30,000 on the week and even on the year.  Saturday’s hog slaughter has been revised to 177,000 head.