It was a winning day for the cattle complex as both of the contracts closed higher, and even the spot June live cattle contract scored a new contract higher. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. May corn is down 1 1/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $0.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 155.09 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 8,000 mt for 2025 were down 22% from the previous week and 43% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were South Korea (3,300 mt), Japan (1,800 mt) and Mexico (1,200 mt). Pork net sales of 31,900 mt for 2025 were up 77% from the previous week and up 13% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (14,400 mt), Colombia (3,700 mt) and Canada (3,300 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:It was a lively day for the live cattle complex as the market seemed to shake the cautious nature possessed earlier in the week. Traders are pleased to see the continued support of consumer demand and believe that the fed cash cattle market may be able to trade steady, if not even a little higher again this week. April live cattle closed $2.47 higher at $209.55, June live cattle closed $2.77 higher at $205.80 and August live cattle closed $2.45 higher at $201.80. The spot June contract scored a new contract high ahead of today's close as the market took out last week's previous top showing again just how strong the market's overall support is. Throughout the day there was a single bid of $213 offered in Nebraska, but no trade developed throughout the day. Asking prices are noted in the South at $211 to $212, but are still not known for the North.
Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 119,000 head -- 5,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $2.58 ($335.72) and select up $2.91 ($319.44) with a movement of 117 loads (69.90 loads of choice, 12.80 loads of select, 27.18 loads of trim and 6.93 loads of ground beef).
FRIDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady/somewhat higher. Given that feedlot managers have waited this long to trade cattle it likely means that they're willing to wait the week out in hopes for stronger prices.
FEEDER CATTLE:The feeder cattle complex wasn't sure whether it was going to find enough support ahead of the day's close to pull off a higher end, but with the help of the live cattle market's bullish bump, traders pushed the feeder cattle contracts higher. April feeders closed $1.67 higher at $287.55, May feeders closed $1.35 higher at $286.52 and August feeders closed $1.85 higher at $290.65. The market is again nearing resistance levels the complex reached just last week, and traders will likely wait to either take out last week's high or again bow to its pressure depending on what the cash cattle market accomplishes. At Clovis Livestock Auction in Clovis, New Mexico compared to last week feeder steers and heifers sold $2.00 to $8.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold $2.00 to $5.00 higher and slaughter bulls sold $2.00 to $7.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 56%. The CME feeder cattle index 3/26/2025: up $0.77, $287.67.
LEAN HOGS:The lean hog complex waited anxiously throughout the day for the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, and to its surprise, the report was favorable to the market and showed a bullish outlook.
And even though the Quarterly report was friendly, traders elected to hedge themselves accordingly ahead of the big report unveiling which is why the contracts rounded out the day lower. April lean hogs closed $0.52 lower at $87.02, June lean hogs closed $0.37 lower at $96.17 and July lean hogs closed $0.55 lower at $96.77. Pork cutout values closed slightly lower – but it's likely that traders see the positive nature of the USDA report and elect to focus on it in Friday's market as opposed to the slight dip in pork cutout values. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.10 with a weighted average price of $88.09 on 6,101 head. Pork cutouts totaled 267.83 loads with 231.79 loads of pork cuts and 36.04 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.81, $94.84. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 489,000 head -- 24,000 head more than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 3/25/2025: up $0.23, $89.13.
FRIDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Packers have likely secured the inventory they need for the week.
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