Market News
Feeder cattle pressured by higher corn
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were mixed, and feeders were lower watching corn and direct business develop. April live cattle closed $.90 lower at $140.52 and June live cattle closed $.65 lower at $137.05. April feeder cattle closed $2.20 lower at $159.80 and May feeder cattle closed $2.55 lower at $165.25.
Direct cash cattle trade activity was relatively quiet on Tuesday with just a handful of deals reported. While not enough to establish a trend, business in the North was reported at $224 to $229 dressed. Asking prices were noted at $144 live in South. It’s likely significant trade volume will be delayed until Wednesday or later.
At the Tri-State Livestock Auction in Nebraska, compared to last week steers and heifers under 700 pounds were steady to $7 higher with weights over 700 pounds steady to $6 lower. The USDA says demand was good on light feeder and moderate for larger cattle. Receipts were up on the week and down on the year. Feeder supply included 49% steers and 82% of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 700 to 738 pounds brought $166 to $177.50 and feeder steers 811 to 848 pounds brought $160 to $162. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 715 to 738 pounds brought $149 to $152.25 and feeder heifers 759 to 779 pounds brought $154.50 to $155.25.
Boxed beef closed lower with light demand for moderate offerings. Choice closed $.83 lower at $256.68 and Select closed $1.89 lower at $251.52. The Choice/Select spread is $5.16. Estimated cattle slaughter is 124,000 head – up 1,000 on the week and the year.
Lean hog futures ended the day higher, support by commercial buying. April lean hogs closed $2.70 higher at $106.20 and May lean hogs closed $3.22 higher at $110.87.
Cash hogs closed sharply higher with a moderate negotiated run. Processors were aggressive in their procurement efforts on Tuesday afternoon and bid up to move their desired numbers. The industry is keeping a close eye on the availability of market-ready barrows and gilts. And while demand for US pork on the global market and domestically has been relatively strong, there are long-term concerns adding volatility in the markets. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $5.11 higher with a base range of $87 to $102 and a weighted average of $94.51; the Iowa/Minnesota had no comparison but a weighted average of $100.73 and the Western Corn Belt closed $6.29 higher with a weighted average of $100.68. Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality.
Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $66. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were steady with moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $60 to $72. Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $57 to $63. Boars ranged from $35 to $40 and $17 to $22.
Pork values closed lower – down $4.08 at $108.19. Bellies dropped nearly $28 on Tuesday. Loins and picnics were also lower. Ribs, butts, and hams were higher to sharply higher. Estimated hog slaughter is 482,000 head – up 10,000 on the week and down 12,000 on the year. Monday’s hog slaughter has been revised to 451,000 head.
