Cattle futures end the week mixed

Market News

Cattle futures end the week mixed

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle ended the day mixed ahead of Friday’s Cattle on Feed report.  The report is considered neutral to bullish for prices.  December live cattle closed $.15 lower at $108.10 and February live cattle closed $.12 higher at $110.65.  January feeder cattle closed $.95 lower at $134.60 and March feeder cattle closed $.57 lower at $134.37. 

Direct cash cattle trade finished the week quietly with just a little cleanup business reported following the light business that took place on Thursday.   Deals this week were mainly at $110 live and $170 to $172 dressed.  That’s mostly steady with the week’s previous business. 

In Missouri this past week feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady.  There was a heavy supply of feeders, but plenty of cattle of all weight classes provided buyers good opportunities to find what they need.  Prices were fully steady to slightly higher at the beginning of the week, but toward the end of the week prices were slightly lower.  Receipts were up on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 59 percent steers and 52 percent of the offering was over 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 650 to 698 pounds brought $125 to $157.25 and feeder steers 700 to 747 pounds brought $122.50 to $153.75.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 500 to 549 pounds brought $120 to $149.75 and feeder heifers 600 to 648 pounds brought $110 to $146. 

Boxed beef closed firm to higher on good demand for moderate offerings.  Choice is $.65 higher at $238.35 and Select is $1.09 higher at $214.98.  The Choice/Select spread is $23.37.  Estimated cattle slaughter is 115,000 head – down 3,000 on the week and down 1,000 on the year.  Saturday’s estimated kill is 72,000 head, up 9,000 on the week and down 7,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures closed higher on an oversold bounce.  December lean hogs closed $.42 higher at $64.12 and February lean hogs closed $2.30 higher at $65.35. 

Cash hogs closed mixed with a fairly light negotiated run. Demand uncertainty continues to add uncertainty to the market.  The availability of market-ready hogs is more than ample and slaughter runs continue to push higher.  While the industry is able to continue to work through the backlog of hogs in the production system, it also adds more pork to an already saturated market.   And should a disruption to demand either globally or domestically occur, it would be detrimental to prices. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $.33 higher with a base range of $50 to $59.75 with a weighted average of $58.73; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $.37 lower with a weighted average of $58.54; the Western Corn Belt closed $.24 lower with a weighted average of $58.41. Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality.

At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were steady with good demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $32 to $45.  Barrow and gilt prices were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $39 to $42.  Boars ranged from $5 to $8. 

Pork values closed lower – down $1.05 at $78.17.  Butts and hams were sharply lower.  Picnics closed weak.  Ribs and loins were firm and bellies closed higher. Estimated hog slaughter is 485,000, that’s up 8,000 on the week and down 3,000 on the year.  Saturday’s estimated kill is 277,000 head, down 6,000 on the week and down 33,000 on the year.  Thursday’s hog slaughter has been revised to 485,000 head. 

.