Friday Closing Livestock Market Update - Sharp Losses Continue to Be Seen

GENERAL COMMENTS:

It was another painstaking day where the livestock contracts all ended the day lower. December corn is up 1 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $2.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 237.33 points and the NASDAQ is up 264.42 points.

From Friday to Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: December live cattle down $9.95, February live cattle down $7.00; November feeder cattle down $15.45, January feeder cattle down $13.40; December lean hogs down $5.35; December corn down $0.06.

LIVE CATTLE:

It was absolutely sickening to watch the live cattle complex fall lower and lower, day in and day out, throughout this past week's trade. The contracts plundered lower, continuing to erode position from the marketplace for no apparent reason. Boxed beef demand is still strong, throughput remains in line with the market's trend, and there's been no wall of cattle found to cause fed cash cattle prices to trade lower -- but yet here we sit, with the board well below its 100-day moving average and the cash cattle market traded cattle lower than last week's weighted average too.

So, what gives? Why has the market completely lost its footing? Good question, and I'm disgusted to say that it's simply because it can... The thing about the futures complex is that traders don't make as much money from stable markets as they do in volatile ones. Regardless of what market disruption does to the rancher. The CME has got to do something about the downside risk to these markets -- this type of volatile market reaction from no true cause is flat reckless and has cost cattlemen tremendously.

December live cattle closed $0.35 lower at $214.05, February live cattle closed $0.42 lower at $217.20 and April live cattle closed $0.57 lower at $219.85. Throughout the week Southern live cattle traded at mostly $218, which is $6.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average and Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $340, which is $8.00 to $25.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. 

Friday's slaughter is estimated at 93,000 head -- 3,000 head less than a week ago and 5,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 11,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 534,000 head -- 9,000 head less than a week ago and 34,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $0.77 ($360.79) and select up $1.24 ($353.56) with a movement of 116 loads (97.12 loads of choice, 4.19 loads of select, 3.47 loads of trim and 11.41 loads of ground beef).

MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. With the board hell-bent to trade lower and packers hold the lion's share of the market's leverage, lower prices are most likely for next week's fed cash cattle trade.

FEEDER CATTLE:

And in keeping in alignment with the live cattle complex, the feeder contracts also fell lower through Friday's end -- with no support arising to help give traders some support to stand on. November feeders closed $2.72 lower at $322.32, January feeders closed $1.95 lower at $318.37 and March feeders closed $2.07 lower at $313.85. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction summary shared that compared to last week and throughout the entire state, feeder steers traded $10.00 to $20.00 lower. Steer calves over 500 pounds sold $10.00 to $12.00 lower, and those under 500 pounds traded $15.00 to $25.00 lower. Feeder heifers and heifer calves both sold $15.00 to $25.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 47%. The CME feeder cattle index 11/5/2026: down $5.35, $337.41.

LEAN HOGS:

Although pork cutout values and cash prices ended the day higher, it still wasn't enough support to change traders' minds and drive the contracts higher ahead of the week's close. And unfortunately, given the unstable demand scenario in the hog sector right now -- it's going to take a lot of support before traders will likely come to the market's aid. December lean hogs closed $1.57 lower at $53.52, February lean hogs closed $1.47 lower at $58.70 and April lean hogs closed $0.62 lower at $66.50. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $4.42 with a weighted average price of $46.21 on 858 head. Pork cutouts totaled 292.40 loads with 271.83 loads of pork cuts and 20.57 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.66, $70.65. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 485,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 15,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 212,000 head. The CME lean hog index 11/4/2026: down $1.07, $62.86.

MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Packers rarely show much interest in the cash hog market on Mondays.

Friday Midday Livestock Market Update - Weaker Tones Drive Contracts Lower

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex is trading mostly lower into Friday's noon hour as the market continues to suffer from a lack of support. Some light trade has been reported in Nebraska at $210 live, but at this point it's looking like the bulk of this week's trade is done with in the fed cash cattle market. December corn is up 1 cent per bushel and December soybean meal is down $0.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 56.09 points and the NASDAQ is up 390.34 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

And the continued downtrend of the live cattle complex is alive and well in Friday's market as currently the contracts find themselves trading $1.00 lower into the day's afternoon. Some more light trade has been noted in Nebraska at $210, but otherwise the market remains quiet and it's looking like the bulk of this week's trade is essentially done with. So far this week Southern live cattle have traded at mostly $218, which is $6.00 lower than last week's weighted average, and Northern dressed cattle have traded at mostly $340 which is $8.00 to $25.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. December live cattle are down $0.25 at $214.17, February live cattle are down $0.22 at $217.42 and April live cattle are down $0.52 at $219.90.

Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.83 ($360.73) and select up $1.07 ($353.39) with a movement of 96 loads (82.02 loads of choice, 2.86 loads of select, 3.47 loads of trim and 7.73 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The pain currently being seen in the live cattle complex is being felt in the feeder cattle market as well as its contracts are trading anywhere from $2.00 to $3.00 lower into today's noon hour. November feeders are down $3.17 at $321.87, January feeders are down $2.80 at $317.25 and March feeders are down $3.12 at $312.80. This lower trend is expected to continue until something worthwhile develops fundamentally in the cattle complex -- which will likely either be strong trade in the fed cash cattle market or a bullish Cattle on Feed report -- time will tell.

LEAN HOGS:

The only livestock complex seeing some sort of support are the deferred lean hog contracts that are trading just above steady while the nearby contracts continue to trade lower. Unfortunately until demand shows steady promise, it's unlikely that the nearby contracts will have much support from traders as demand remains an issue for the complex. December lean hogs are down $1.12 at $53.97, February lean hogs are down $0.72 at $59.45 and April lean hogs are down $0.07 at $67.05. The projected lean hog index for 11/5/2026 is down $1.29 at $61.57, and the actual index for 11/4/2026 is down $1.07 at $62.86. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $4.67 with a weighted average price of $44.96. Pork cutouts totaled 174.81 loads with 160.30 loads of pork cuts and 14.52 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.91, $71.90.

Friday Morning Livestock Market Update - Stock Market Pressures Futures

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Live cattle futures closed $3.60 lower on the December contract and posted smaller losses on the deferred months. While the stock market pressure certainly was not helpful, live cattle have been faced with their own challenges this week. For cattle ready to go to slaughter, it is difficult to find bids available as weights increase while they wait to ship. Cash prices traded lower on Thursday as packers have plenty of offers to choose from. Nebraska saw $214 to $219 live traded or $335 to $342 dressed. Iowa and Minnesota were weaker at $208 to $218 live or $332 to $345 dressed. The Feeder Cattle Index has fallen hard this week as well with daily auction results looking much weaker than what the actual index will show Friday. Strike threats for the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have been pushed off to 11:59 p.m. PST Friday.

Lean hog futures fell as much as $2.45 on the December contract with the deferred contracts down $0.875 to $2.125. This marks another new contract low for December hogs, trading as low as $54.225. This is the lowest price seen since September 2020. Pork cutouts were down 30 cents Thursday, and the Daily Direct Hog report was down 70 cents. Slaughter is currently 22,000 head above last week, so there will be little reason for packers to need to buy more this week.

	BULL SIDE		BEAR SIDE
1)	Eastern Nebraska cattle traded to a Texas buyer, proving that the weakness in the North is not representative to the whole country.	1)	Packers are buying for the first week of December, showing that the immediate excess supply may take weeks to work through.
2)	Throughput is strong for packers, indicating they should continue buying higher volumes to work through the backlog of Northern cattle ready for slaughter.	2)	Poor fat prices now look ugly for feedlots trying to buy feeders once their lots are empty.
3)	Lean hog futures are still oversold.	3)	The CME Lean Hog Index continues to fall with lower cash prices.
4)	The pressure from the stock market Thursday can easily be recuperated with a stock market recovery.	4)	Stock market pressure can really suppress prices as market confidence in the economy usually has a direct correlation to meat and protein demand.

Thursday Closing Livestock Market Update - Lack of Support Drives Contracts Lower Yet Again

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex ended Thursday lower, with simply not enough support surfacing for traders to do anything else with the market for the time being. Some light cash cattle trade was noted in the South at $218 which is $6 lower than last week's weighted average. December corn is down 4 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $1.40.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1,778.84 points and the NASDAQ is down 1,328.52 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

Between the cash cattle market's lower trend, to the sheer erosion of confidence in the entire cattle complex thanks to last week's share sell off, to the the strike threats looming at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports (where approximately 25% of beef exports pass through) and the bearish tone that's settle into the live cattle complex begins to make sense.

And Thursday's trade was no different from the lower trend in which the complex saw earlier in the week. December live cattle closed $3.60 lower at $214.40, February live cattle closed $3.20 lower at $217.62 and April live cattle closed $2.77 lower at $220.42. Some light cash cattle trade was noted in the South at $218 which is $6 lower than last week's weighted average. A few sales were also marked in Nebraska at $214, but those cattle were being trucked to the South as well as supplies of market ready cattle are thinner in the South right now. 

Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 110,000 head which is 1,000 head more than a week ago and 4,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $0.94 ($361.56) and select down $4.33 ($352.32) with a movement of 97 loads (60.75 loads of choice, 11.74 loads of select, 4.11 loads of trim and 19.96 loads of ground beef).

FRIDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady with the week's trend. We've now seen a light test in the North, and a light test in the South, and so at this point, prices are likely to remain close to the prices seen thus far as packers possess the lion's share of the market's leverage.

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle contracts ended the day $4 to $5 lower with a lack of support - stemming from any direction - again being the market's Achillies heel. And until the live cattle complex sees some level of support arise and opts to trade higher - this weaker tone will likely remain the theme of the feeder cattle complex until something fundamentally worthwhile develops. November feeders closed $6.97 lower at $325.05, January feeders closed $5.40 lower at $320.32 and March feeders closed $4.92 lower at $315.92. At Clovis Livestock Auction in Clovis, New Mexico, compared to last week and at their midsession point, steer calves weighing 350 to 600 pounds were trading $6 to $20 lower and feeder steers were trading $2 to $12 lower. Heifer calves weighing 300 to 500 pounds were traded $14 to $20 lower and those weighing 500 to 600 pounds were selling steady to $10 higher. The CME feeder cattle index Nov. 4, 2026: down $3.82, $342.76.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex ended Thursday lower, again unable to find any meaningful support in the market to safely allow traders to move the contracts higher. December lean hogs closed $2.45 lower at $55.10, February lean hogs closed $2.12 lower at $60.17 and April lean hogs closed $1.20 lower at $67.12. Pork cutouts totaled 342.55 loads with 303.96 loads of pork cuts and 38.59 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.30, $68.99. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.70 with a weighted average price of $41.79 on 1,711 head. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 494,000 head - 22,000 head more than a week ago and 31,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index Nov. 2, 2026: down $1.06, $63.93.

FRIDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. At this point packers have likely secured the vast majority of their needs already out of the cash market.