Market News
Cattle futures higher ahead of direct business
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were supported by the sharply higher boxed beef at midday, waiting for direct business to develop. June live cattle closed $.65 higher at $177.62, and August lives closed $1.10 higher at $175.52. August feeders closed $1.55 higher at $254.42, and September feeders closed $1.57 higher at $255.45.
Direct cash cattle trade activity was quiet again Tuesday. Bids didn’t surface, but asking in the South started out around $186 to $187 live. There were a handful of deals reported in the North on Monday, but not enough to establish an accurate price trend. Look for more business to develop before the end of the day Friday.
At the Callaway Livestock Center in Missouri, there was a lighter offering of steer calves 400 to 500 pounds, which were $5 to $10 lower. Steers 500 to 550 pounds were steady to firm, and steers 550 to 700 pounds were $5 to $10 higher. Feeder heifers 400 to 500 pounds were steady to firm, and feeder heifers 500 to 550 pounds were firm to $5 higher. The USDA says demand was good on a moderate supply. Overall, there was a very good quality offering of steer and heifer calves that sold on a very active market. Receipts were up on the week and down slightly on the year. Feeder supply included 61% steers, and 39% of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 558 to 597 pounds brought $310 to $340, and feeder steers 600 to 644 pounds brought $295 to $321.75. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 450 to 497 pounds brought $307 to $325, and feeder heifers 662 pounds brought $262.25.
Boxed beef closed mixed on light to moderate demand for moderate offerings. Choice was $.27 lower at $298.49 and Select closed $2.59 higher at $292.34. The Choice/Select spread is $6.15. Estimated cattle slaughter was 124,000 head – even on the week and down about 5,000 on the year.
Lean hog futures ended the day higher on short covering, shrugging off Tuesday’s drop in pork prices. June lean hogs closed $.15 higher at $98.32, and July lean hogs closed $.35 higher at $102.50.
Cash hogs closed mixed with a large negotiated run. Overall, processors were much more aggressive in their procurement efforts and had to work to move needed numbers, even with some instances of slightly lower prices. The industry continues to monitor the availability of market-ready hogs and hog weights, especially as demand for US pork remains strong on the global market and is picking up domestically as summer grilling season is just around the corner. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $.84 higher with a base range of $86 to $95 and a weighted average of $93.25; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $.57 lower with a weighted average of $93.26; the Western Corn Belt closed $.49 lower with a weighted average of $93.34; no comparison at the Eastern Corn Belt but a weighted average of $92.69.
Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets were steady at $50. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were $1 lower with moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $36 to $48. Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $51 to $61. Boars ranged from $18 to $28 and $8 to $15.
Pork values closed lower – down $2.41 at $97.09. Bellies dropped more than $9 on Tuesday. Loins were also sharply lower. Picnics were lower, while hams, butts, and ribs were higher. Estimated hog slaughter was 478,000 head – down about 4,000 on the week and up about 27,000 on the year.
