Wednesday Closing Livestock Market Update - Cattle Inch Higher While Hogs Run Out of Steam

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex closed mixed, with the cattle contracts keeping their rally through the end of the day, but the lean hog complex ran out of momentum and closed lower. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. March corn is up 3 1/2 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $3.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 12.19 points and the NASDAQ is up 40.35 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

The live cattle complex was brave throughout Wednesday's trade as traders elected to push the spot April contract up to the market's resistance at $239, but weren't willing just yet to attempt to conquer that threshold. I call the complex brave simply because traders didn't have to push the market higher, as there's been little fundamental support develop this week, as boxed beef prices are mixed, and there's been no sizeable trade yet in the fed cash cattle market. Now it is fully assumed that later this week fed cash cattle will trade higher, but time will tell. February live cattle closed $1.22 higher at $236.82, April live cattle closed $1.32 higher at $238.72 and June live cattle closed $1.20 higher at $234.45. A few bids were offered throughout the day in Nebraska at $236, but still no cattle traded. 

Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 112,000 head, 2,000 head less than a week ago but 12,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $1.63 ($369.74) and select down $1.62 (363.57) with a movement of 86 loads (61.53 loads of choice, 7.94 loads of select, 5.55 loads of trim and 10.84 loads of ground beef).

THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. With fed cash cattle supplies thin, prices will likely be higher when cattle trade later this week.

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex was also brave throughout the day, as although the market seemed to mostly follow the direction of the live cattle complex, it also threatened its resistance level in the spot March contract. March feeders closed $3.85 higher at $365.85, April feeders closed $3.65 higher at $364.30 and May feeders closed $3.40 higher at $361.35. At the Winter Livestock Auction in Dodge City, Kansas, compared to last week, steers over 600 pounds were well tested to establish a definite market trend, but steers under 600 pounds sold unevenly steady, with black steers selling $15.00 higher while red lots were too fleshy and unweaned. The sale had minimal receipts compared to last week, as the winter snowstorm affected most in the area. The CME feeder cattle index 1/27/2026: down $0.74, $363.99.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex simply ran out of steam by the time Wednesday rolled around. February lean hogs closed $1.10 lower at $87.95, April lean hogs closed $1.67 lower at $95.15 and June lean hogs closed $1.45 lower at $107.92. Pork cutout values were a tick lower, which doesn't help the market's lower tone, but it was refreshing to see a larger volume traded in the cash hog market. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $1.46 with a weighted average price of $85.31 on 7,300 head. Pork cutouts totaled 296.78 loads with 263.21 loads of pork cuts and 33.56 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.64, $95.05. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 493,000 head, 6,000 head more than a week ago and 11,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 1/26/2026: up $0.42, $84.43.

THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given that packers bought somewhat aggressively today, it's likely that they'll be less aggressive later in the week.

Wednesday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Cattle Scale Higher Waiting on Cash Cattle Trade to Develop

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex is trading mixed as the lean hog contracts are trading lower after facing some technical exhaustion, but the cattle contracts are bravely trading higher. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. March corn is up 3 3/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $4.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 30.30 points and NASDAQ is down 9.29 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

The live cattle complex wasn't confident at the day's initial start, but now that the market has had longer to trade, the complex has grown stronger. Currently, the contracts are pushing past the market's resistance and treading higher into the day's noon hour. February live cattle are up $0.97 at $236.57, April live cattle are up $1.12 at $238.52 and June live cattle are up $0.95 at $234.20. It's somewhat questionable where traders are getting the additional support from this morning, as boxed beef prices are mixed and we've yet to see any trade in the fed cash cattle market. But maybe traders' confidence lies in the fact that they believe fed cash cattle prices will trade higher later this week and that Friday's Cattle Inventory report will be bullish. I hope all those claims come to fruit. At this point, no cash cattle trade has developed and both bids and asking prices remain elusive.

Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.14 ($369.25) and select down $1.45 ($363.73) with a movement of 50 loads (31.60 loads of choice, 4.20 loads of select, 5.22 loads of trim and 8.48 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex is also trading higher into Wednesday's noon hour as the market finds it comforting to see the live cattle contracts trading in a positive manner. March feeders are up $1.55 at $363.60, April feeders are up $1.60 at $362.25 and May feeders are up $1.57 at $359.52. As long as the live cattle contracts maintain their upward momentum through the day's end, it's likely that the feeder cattle contracts will as well.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog contracts are back to trading lower as the market seems to be facing some technical exhaustion after a significant rally over the last month. Thankfully, pork cutout values are still trading higher, so traders should find some support there, but for the meantime, the market's direction is lower. February lean hogs are down $1.20 at $87.85, April lean hogs are down $1.87 at $94.95 and Juen lean hogs are down $1.72 at $107.65.

The projected lean hog index for 1/27/2026 is up $0.79 at $85.22 and the actual index for 1/26/2026 is up $0.42 at $84.43. Pork cutouts total 179.94 loads with 156.91 loads of pork cuts and 23.03 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.57, $96.26. Hog prices are again not available on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, but we can see that only 4,325 head have traded and that the market's five-day rolling average sits at $80.86.

Wednesday Morning Livestock Market Update - Hog Futures Are Ripe for a Retracement

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Cattle futures did not accomplish much through the close with slight losses. Traders may wait for direction from cash before becoming too excited over higher prices. Packers have been able to purchase some cattle ahead for deferred delivery, but whether that will be sufficient to keep them from paying more this week remains to be seen. Feedlots have been in the driver's seat for quite some time and will remain that way with less expensive feed making increased weight gain profitable. Boxed beef prices were lower, which may keep traders cautious today. Choice boxed beef was down $0.79, with select down $1.93. Feeder cattle prices have not been published as the weather has closed many of them. However, prices likely will not suffer much.

Hog futures maintained the higher trend. The July contract closed above $110, where prices have not been for quite some time. The continued strength has been impressive, driven by the trend higher in pork cutouts. Hog supplies are being readily absorbed through increased demand. The National Daily Direct Afternoon Hog report showed cash up $1.57. Packers are expected to remain aggressive again today. Pork cutouts declined $1.57. Hog slaughter continues to hold at a strong pace.

	BULL SIDE		BEAR SIDE
1)	Feedlots anticipate packers will need cattle and hold for higher prices.	1)	Cattle futures have not been able to break out of the recent sideways trading range. Technical resistance may be increasing.
2)	The current tight cattle supplies will provide the confidence for feedlots to hold cattle even if they are ready for the market. Higher weights have not been a problem for the market.	2)	Cattle futures seem to have found a level of comfort and may remain rangebound for a time.
3)	Hogs continue to trend higher with traders confident to hold and add to their long positions.	3)	Hog futures are overbought and ready for a retracement. This may take place before the end of the month.
4)	Hog weights are expected to decrease again this week, which means more hogs will be needed to maintain pork tonnage.	4)	The cash market is struggling to trend higher. Packers are not aggressive as there are sufficient hogs for slaughter.

Tuesday Closing Livestock Market Update - Hogs Inch Higher While Cattle Dip Lower

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The cattle complex may have been worried about fundamental support, which is ultimately why both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts closed lower as traders deemed there wasn't enough support currently in the marketplace to justify trading the contracts higher, but the lean hog complex was a different story as it once again successfully closed higher. Still no fed cash cattle trade has developed. March corn is down 1 3/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is down $0.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 416.22 points and the NASDAQ is up 244.47 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

The live cattle complex attempted to trade higher earlier in the day, but ultimately, the market's technical resistance was found to be too much of a barrier for the market to conquer at this time. If later in the week the fed cash cattle market is indeed able to trade cattle for higher prices, then there's a chance that the market could potentially attempt to conquer that threshold, but at this point, there simply wasn't enough fundamental support around for traders to successfully challenge that threshold. February live cattle closed $0.42 lower at $235.60, April live cattle closed $0.60 lower at $237.40 and June live cattle closed $0.37 lower at $233.25. 

Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 112,000 head, 2,000 head less than a week ago and 11,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $0.79 ($368.11) and select down $1.93 ($365.19) with a movement of 102 loads (75.92 loads of choice, 6.73 loads of select, 4.25 loads of trim and 15.27 loads of ground beef).

WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. Even though packers bought a respectable volume in last week's market, prices will likely trade higher again this week as feedlot managers know that packers need more inventory and they're currently in a position that if they don't see the prices they'd like, they can simply roll their showlists over into the upcoming week.

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex also lost its momentum as the day traded onward, as traders weren't willing to advance the complex when the live cattle contracts were trending lower. It's been tough to note feeder cattle price trends in the countryside, as most sale barns have been shut down early this week while much of the country has been blasted with snow and arctic temperatures. March feeders closed $0.60 lower at $362.00, April feeders closed $0.55 lower at $360.65 and May feeders closed $0.52 lower at $357.95. The CME feeder cattle index 1/26/2026: up $1.16, $364.73.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex didn't weaken throughout Tuesday's hours as the market successfully closed higher once again. Today was the first time in multiple trading days that pork cutout values closed lower, but luckily, trader support remained ample, and cash prices closed higher, too. February lean hogs closed $0.75 higher at $89.05, April lean hogs closed $0.10 higher at $96.82 and June lean hogs closed $0.25 higher at $109.37. It will be interesting to see how pork cutout values close Wednesday afternoon, as most of the cuts closed lower Tuesday afternoon. Pork cutouts totaled 275.54 loads with 240.40 loads of pork cuts and 35.14 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.57, $95.69. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $1.57 with a weighted average price of $84.82. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 483,000 head, 5,000 head less than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 1/23/2026: up $0.39, $84.01.

WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Packers were slightly more aggressive in Tuesday's market, but they still don't likely have enough support for the entire week yet.