Market News
Hog futures start the week higher
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle ended the day lower and feeders were mostly lower, watching corn and waiting for direct business to develop. June live cattle closed $.60 lower at $116.22 and August live cattle closed $.30 lower at $117.77. August feeder cattle closed $.27 higher at $150.20 and September feeder cattle closed $.12 lower at $152.62.
A quiet Monday for direct cash cattle trade. Bids and asking prices didn’t surface. Showlists this week are somewhat higher in Kansas, and higher in Texas and Nebraska/Colorado. Look for business to develop as the week progresses.
At midsession at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, compared to two weeks ago, feeder steers and heifers were $3 to $5 higher. Steer calves were $4 to $6 lower and heifer calves were $3 to $5 higher. The USDA says demand was moderate to good. Receipts were up from two weeks ago and up on the year. Feeder supply included 69 percent steers and 84% of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 852 to 895 pounds brought $130.50 to $139.50 and feeder steers 950 to 985 pounds brought $128 to $131.50. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 704 to 747 pounds brought $122 to $138 and feeder heifers 753 to 796 pounds brought $123 to $128.50.
Boxed beef closed lower to sharply lower on light demand for moderate offerings. Choice closed $.38 lower at $338.60 and Select closed $2.56 lower at $309.17. The Choice/Select spread is $29.43. Estimated cattle slaughter is 119,000 head – up 7,000 on the year.
Lean hog futures ended the day higher, supported by cash and pork values during the session. June lean hogs closed $.40 higher at $119.90 and July lean hogs closed $1.50 higher at $122.20.
Cash hogs closed higher with a solid negotiated run. Processors remain aggressive in their procurement efforts and prices reflect that. The strong demand for US pork on the global market and domestically has been largely supportive to prices and that’s expected to continue. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $1.01 higher with a base range of $99.84 to $120 with a weighted average of $110.41; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $.03 higher with a weighted average of $114.80; the Western Corn Belt closed $.20 higher with a weighted average of $115.53; the Eastern Corn Belt closed $4.34 higher with a weighted average of $108.09.
Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash market are steady at $75. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were steady with moderate to good demand for heavy demand at $38 to $50. Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate to good demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $71 to $76. Boars ranged from $45 to $50 and $12 to $18.
Pork values closed higher – up $1.44 at $134.73. Picnics, ribs, loins, butts, and bellies are all higher. Hams were sharply lower. Estimated hog slaughter is 483,000 head – up 38,000 on the year.
