All in all, Monday's market was lackluster at best as the cattle contracts closed lower and although the lean hog complex closed slightly higher, it's likely the market will be pressured on Tuesday as President Trump announced this afternoon that starting on Tuesday (3/4/2025) a 25% tariff will go into play for both Mexico and Canada. May corn is down 13 1/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 781.82 points.
LIVE CATTLE:The live cattle complex rounded out the day with the same weak nature it possessed throughout Monday's trade. Without any positive fundamental support coming to fruition, traders were left with the same unsettled nature they possessed late last week. April live cattle closed $0.40 lower at $192.25, June live cattle closed $0.67 lower at $188.10 and August live cattle closed $0.75 lower at $187.17. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 102,000 head -- 7,000 head more than a week ago and 15,000 head less than a year ago. This week's showlists are higher in Kansas, but lower in Texas and Nebraska/Colorado.
Last week Southern live cattle traded at $197, which is $2.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average, and Northern dressed cattle traded at $313, which is also $2.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 55,893 head. Of that, 97% (54,475 head) were committed to the market's nearby delivery, while the remaining 3% (1,418 head) were committed to the deferred delivery option.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $2.10 ($313.93) and select up $0.36 ($302.41) with a movement of 100 loads (58.82 loads of choice, 21.37 loads of select, 7.53 loads of trim and 12.22 loads of ground beef).
TUESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. With not seeing much change in seasonal beef demand yet, it's unlikely that they push cash cattle prices higher this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:With the live cattle market's stern commitment to trading lower, the feeder cattle complex was pressured to do the same thing throughout Monday's trade. March feeders closed $0.95 lower at $274.02, April feeders closed $0.95 lower at $272.05 and May feeders closed $0.92 lower at $270.20. And unless the live cattle complex finds some support this week, it's likely that the feeder cattle market will continue to trade in the live cattle market's wake as an unsettled nature has rooted its way into the cattle sector. At Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, compared to last week and at their midsession point, feeder steers and heifers were trading steady to $3.00 lower, but stocker steers and steer calves were trading $10.00 to $15.00 higher. Stocker heifers and heifer calves were trading mostly steady. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 60%. The CME feeder cattle index 2/28/2025: down $0.48, $280.58.
LEAN HOGS:The lean hog complex was able to finally find some technical support following last week's sharp sell-off, but it's yet to be seen what tomorrow's market will bring as a 25% tariff is going into effect tomorrow for both Mexico and Canada. On the one hand, there's a chance that traders have already taken that fact into account and have it factored into the market, but there's just as likely of a chance that prices drop lower again on Tuesday as traders will likely react poorly to the trade development. April lean hogs closed $0.02 higher at $83.70, June lean hogs closed $0.32 higher at $95.35 and July lean hogs closed $0.55 higher at $97.30. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.61 with a weighted average price of $88.41 on 980 head. Pork cutouts totaled 238.29 loads, with 216.71 loads of pork cuts and 21.59 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.37, $99.79. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 490,000 head -- steady with last week and 5,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 2/27/2025: up $0.05, $89.44.
TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Packers will likely want to see how the announcement of tariffs affects the market before they buy aggressively this week in the cash sector.
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