Monday Closing Livestock Market Update - Cattle Close Higher Thanks to Stronger Beef Demand

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The cattle contracts ended the day stronger as consumer demand was strong. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas and Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Texas. July corn is up 2 3/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $0.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 468.77 points and the NASDAQ is up 795.10 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

With stronger boxed beef prices, the live cattle contracts rallied through the day's end. June live cattle closed $0.75 higher at $250.62, August live cattle closed $2.07 higher at $243.25 and October live cattle closed $3.00 higher at $236.80. The spot August contract closed just $0.05 above the market's 40-day rolling average, which means it will be especially important to see how the market reacts to that on Tuesday. If boxed beef prices remain strong, then traders may be able to hold a position above that threshold. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas and Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Texas. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 99,000 head -- 3,000 head less than a week ago and 1,000 head less than a year ago.

Do note that later this week, the markets will be closed on Friday, June 19, for the Juneteenth holiday, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report will be released on Thursday, June 18.

Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $3.12 ($395.05) and select up $3.69 ($376.41) with a movement of 68 loads (40.50 loads of choice, 9.13 loads of select, 5.99 loads of trim and 11.97 loads of ground beef).

TUESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat higher. Given that last week packers bought cattle late in the week and then immediately called for delivery on them likely means that they'll need to be a tick more aggressive this week.

FEEDER CATTLE:

It was a fruitful day for the feeder cattle contracts as the market closed anywhere from $4.00 to $5.00 higher and successfully ended the day above both the market's 40-day and 100-day moving averages. August feeder cattle closed $4.12 higher at $361.55, September feeders closed $4.97 higher at $359.52 and October feeders closed $5.17 higher at $356.10. At the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri, at their mid-session point, feeder steers were trading steady to $12.00 higher and feeder heifers were trading steady to $18.00 higher, with the biggest gains being seen on the heifers weighing 550 pounds or less. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 65%. The CME feeder cattle index 6/12/2026: down $5.34, $362.67.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex ended the day mixed as traders weren't willing to be overly supportive of the contracts without first seeing what consumer demand was going to be like. July lean hogs closed $0.87 lower at $96.57, August lean hogs closed $0.57 lower at $95.77 and October lean hogs closed $1.15 lower at $80.22. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $1.98 with a weighted average price of $97.25 on 1,398 head. Pork cutouts total 308.61 loads with 290.46 loads of pork cuts and 18.15 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.27, $97.12. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 484,000 head -- 19,000 head more than a week ago and 9,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 6/11/2026: down $0.15, $92.75.

TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Given that packers were a tick more aggressive in Monday's market than they normally are, I'd say that it's likely that they'll be active in Tuesday's market as they're likely short bought.

Monday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Cattle Rally While Hogs Remain Cautious

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex is trading mixed into Monday's noon hour as the cattle contracts are scaling higher upon stronger consumer demand, but the lean hog contracts are trading lower. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas and Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Texas. July corn is up 2 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $0.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 717.04 points and NASDAQ is up 776.98 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

With the help of supportive boxed beef prices, the live cattle contracts are trading higher at the week's start and inching even closer to the market's resistance at its 40-day moving average. At this point, traders remain focused on the support stemming from strong consumer demand, but there's a possibility the contracts could soften later Monday or even later this week if not enough fundamental support arises. June live cattle are up $0.25 at $250.12, August live cattle are up $0.92 at $242.12 and October live cattle are up $1.92 at $235.72. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas and Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Texas.

Do note that later this week the markets will be closed on Friday, June 19 for the Juneteenth holiday, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report will be released on Thursday, June 18.

Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.45 ($394.38) and select up $2.65 ($375.37) with a movement of 29 loads (22.04 loads of choice, 4.15 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 2.75 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

With the support of the live cattle futures' higher trend, the feeder cattle contracts are rallying into Monday's noon hour, pushing anywhere from a $3.00 to $5.00 rally. This week is going to be a heavy hitter for the feeder cattle market as Superior's Corn Belt Classic is set to happen on June 16-17 and this will be the first real test of the summer for feeder cattle sales. With right over 73,000 head set to sell, the market will have a strong test of what feeder cattle demand is for the upcoming summer sales. August feeders are up $3.72 at $361.15, September feeders are up $4.65 at $359.20 and October feeders are up $4.85 at $355.77.

LEAN HOGS:

Meanwhile, the lean hog complex is trading mostly lower as the market desperately longs for continued support. Yes, midday pork cutout values are higher, but traders are leery of being too supportive when demand has been a mixed bag in recent weeks. July lean hogs are down $0.25 at $97.20, August lean hogs are down $0.10 at $96.22 and October lean hogs are down $1.00 at $80.37. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 6/12/2026 is down $0.66 at $92.09, and the actual index for 6/11/2026 is down $0.15 at $92.75. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report are not available because of confidentiality, however we can see that only 993 head have traded Monday morning and the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $96.85. Pork cutouts total 194.53 loads with 183.58 loads of pork cuts and 10.95 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.60, $98.99.

Monday Morning Livestock Market Update - Cattle May Show Further Weakness

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Cattle futures spent little time in positive territory as cash trade was slow to develop, leaving traders questioning whether steady to higher cash trade would surface, with nothing done by the market's close. Instead of cash being steady to higher, the result was steady to $1.00 lower. Packers will not be very anxious to post bids this week, but will see how the news develops. JBS announced the closing of two small plants -- one in Pennsylvania and one in Tennessee. It is uncertain how much impact this will have on the market, other than psychological. The other is that more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed. The number of cases has increased to 12. These cases span over six Texas counties and one New Mexico county. It has been found in cattle, goats, sheep and a dog. Clearly, this is not going away anytime soon. Boxed beef prices were lower on Friday, with choice down $1.28 and select down $0.53. The Commitment of Traders report showed fund traders reducing their net-long live cattle futures position by 7,035 contracts to a net long of 109,072. They added 93 contracts to feeder cattle to bring their net-long positions to 11,392.

Hog futures fell to new lows on Friday before short-covering emerged, pushing prices into positive territory by the close. However, that is little consolation given the market's weakness over the past weeks. The cash and cutout prices have not fluctuated to any large degree over the past weeks, but the premium that had been prevalent in the market has eroded to move futures closer to cash. It was a nice bounce, but it may not be a change in trend. The National Daily Direct Afternoon Hog report showed cash down $1.99. Pork cutout values jumped $2.92. Packers may step up early to purchase hogs for the week. The Commitment of Traders report showed funds adding 4,612 short positions, increasing their net-short position to 24,461.

	BULL SIDE		BEAR SIDE
1)	Traders may see little downside price risk and will be willing to maintain support in the market.	1)	Packers are expected to reduce their bids this week in an attempt to take advantage of the news in the market.
2)	More cases of the New World screwworm will be taken in stride and may not impact the market.	2)	Fund traders are reducing their net-long position and may continue to do so in the coming weeks. This may limit upside price potential.
3)	Hog futures are substantially oversold and could correct soon. Generally, there is a 50% retracement in price after a decline of this magnitude.	3)	An increasing net-short position in hog futures does not bode well for the market. Fund traders are not optimistic.
4)	Packers may step up aggressively today to purchase hogs earlier rather than later in the week.	4)	Demand has not increased sufficiently to offset the increased slaughter, leaving sufficient pork available to the market.

Friday Closing Livestock Market Update - Cattle Close Lower and Cash Sales Remain Slow to Develop

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex ended the day mixed once again, with the cattle contracts fearing resistance while the lean hog contracts finally found some technical support. Only a handful of cattle sales have developed in the cash market, where live sales are being marked at $255, which is $1.00 lower than last week's weighted average. July corn is up 1 cent per bushel and July soybean meal is down $0.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 353.51 points and the NASDAQ is up 79.18 points.

From Friday to Friday, the livestock contracts scored the following changes: June live cattle down $0.20, August live cattle down $0.47; August feeder cattle up $3.53, September feeder cattle up $3.73; June lean hogs down $1.77, July lean hogs down $1.35; July corn down $0.05, September corn down $0.06.

LIVE CATTLE:

With the help of stronger fundamentals, the live cattle contracts were left to sink lower through Friday's close as the market's 40-day moving average simply posed as too much of a resistance barrier at this time. June live cattle closed $1.60 lower at $249.87, August live cattle closed $1.50 lower at $249.87 and October live cattle closed $1.50 lower at $241.17 and October live cattle closed $1.60 lower at $233.80. At the time of this writing, only a handful of cattle had been traded in the cash market. But live sales were noted in both Nebraska and Texas at $255, which is $1.00 lower than last week's weighted average. No trade has developed yet this week in Kansas or Iowa, and no dressed trade has developed.

Friday's slaughter is estimated at 95,000 head -- 5,000 head less than a week and a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 8,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 524,000 head -- 9,000 head less than a week ago and 36,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $1.28 ($391.93) and select down $0.53 ($372.72) with a movement of 77 loads (52.80 loads of choice, 8.87 loads of select, 4.43 loads of trim and 10.74 loads of ground beef).

MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. With packers not overly active this week, and boxed beef prices seeing some softness, prices may be lower next week.

FEEDER CATTLE:

And once again this afternoon, in keeping with perfect alignment to the live cattle complex, the feeder cattle contracts closed lower as the market's technical resistance was simply too much for the contracts to withstand. August feeders closed $2.22 lower at $357.42, September feeders closed $1.97 lower at $354.55 and October feeders closed $1.87 lower at $350.92. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction summary shared that compared to last week, feeder steers weighing over 850 pounds traded $2.00 to $6.00 higher, but steers under 850 pounds traded $10.00 to $13.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold $1.00 to $7.00 higher. Steer calves traded $10.00 to $15.00 higher and heifer calves traded steady to $4.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to $5.00 lower, and slaughter bulls sold $2.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 67%. The CME feeder cattle index 6/11/2026: down $2.09, $368.01.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex was able to maintain its momentum through the day's end as traders are seeing somewhat of a bottom form in the market's current move. July lean hogs closed $0.82 higher at $97.45, August lean hogs closed $0.45 higher at $96.35 and October lean hogs closed $0.30 higher at $81.37. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.99 with a weighted average price of $95.27 on 2,168 head. Pork cutouts totaled 333.08 loads with 318.47 loads of pork cuts and 14.61 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.92, $97.39. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 475,000 head -- 8,000 head more than a week ago and 40,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 48,000 head. The CME lean hog index 6/10/2026: down $0.02, $92.90.

MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Packers rarely buy aggressively in the cash hog market on Mondays.