Market News
Live cattle mixed at midweek
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle closed mixed and feeder cattle closed lower watching corn and direct cash business. December live cattle closed $.20 lower at $132 and February live cattle closed $.12 higher at $136.82. November feeder cattle closed $1.25 lower at $156.65 and January feeder cattle closed $1.75 lower at $158.05.
There was a light to moderate direct cash cattle trade that took place on Wednesday. Live deals in the South were at $132, $3 higher than last week’s weighted averages. Dressed deals in the North were mostly at $207, $4 higher than last week’s weighted average basis. Asking prices are firm for what’s left on showlists at $133 to $134 live in the South and $207 plus dressed in the North.
At the Ozarks Regional Stockyards in Missouri, compared to last week, steer calves were $4 to $8 higher while heifer calves were $2 to $6 higher. Yearlings were lightly tested and were steady to $4 higher. The USDA says demand was good on a heavy supply and the market was active. The quality of the offering was much better than the past several weeks. Receipts were up on the week and down slightly on the year. Feeder supply included 47% steers and 40% of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 450 to 491 pounds brought $174 to $188 and feeder steers 602 to 649 pounds brought $157.50 to $167. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 460 to 494 pounds brought $146 to $155.50 and feeder heifers 600 to 646 pounds brought $140 to $148.
Boxed beef closed sharply lower on light demand for strong offerings. Choice closed $2.28 lower at $285.52 and Select closed $4.00 lower at $266.62. The Choice/Select spread is $18.90. Estimated cattle slaughter is 122,000 head – even on the week and up 8,000 on the year.
Lean hog futures closed mostly higher, supported by higher pork values during the session. December lean hogs closed $.75 higher at $75.70 and February lean hogs closed $.57 higher at $79.32.
Cash hogs closed lower with a moderate negotiated run. Packers haven’t had to be aggressive in their procurement efforts and have been able to move their desired numbers without having to bid up. Demand for US pork on the global market has been strong, while that is expected to continue, there are long-term demand concerns which is putting some pressure on prices. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $.57 lower with a base range of $55 to $60 and a weighted average of $58.09, the Iowa/Minnesota had a weighted average of $58.01; the Western Corn Belt had a weighted average of $57.85. Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality.
Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $60. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were steady with moderate demand for very heavy offerings at $58 to $68. Barrows and gilts were steady to $1 lower with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $34 to $42. Boars ranged from $15 to $25 and $10 to $20.
Pork values closed lower, down $1.87 at $90.57. Loins were sharply lower. Butts, ribs, and bellies were all lower. Picnics and hams were higher to sharply higher. Estimated hog slaughter is 478,000 head – up 5,000 on the week and up 24,000 on the year.
