GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a mixed session for the livestock complex Monday as some of the markets were fully supported, but others faced technical pressure. New showlists appear to be mixed, about steady in Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Kansas and Texas. July corn is up 4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $0.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 137.33 points and NASDAQ is up 4.36 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a successful day in the fact that futures contracts closed higher in the live cattle complex, but traders weren't willing move the complex aggressively as they still question if the complex is overbought. June live cattle closed $0.75 higher at $212.97, August live cattle closed $1.17 higher at $207.92 and October live cattle closed $1.10 higher at $205.07. It was supportive, however, that boxed beef prices closed higher -- seeing an improvement in consumer demand will hopefully improve packer morale. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 115,000 head -- 16,000 head more than a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago. New showlists appear to be mixed, about steady in Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Kansas and Texas.
Just last week the fed cash cattle market saw Southern live cattle trade mostly $219 to $220, which is steady to $1.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. But Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $358, which is $2.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Both price ranges are new record highs for both regions. And last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 81,722 head -- with 60% (48,654 head) of the cattle being committed to the nearby delivery, and the remaining 40% (33,068 head) were committed to the deferred delivery option.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $2.32 ($354.81) and select up $1.72 ($344.11) with a movement of 72 loads (36.52 loads of choice, 10.89 loads of select, 11.81 loads of ground beef and 12.98 loads of trim).
TUEDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. With packers having some supply committed to them, it's likely prices will trade steady this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex wasn't as well supported as the live cattle contracts throughout Monday as it closed mixed. August feeders closed $0.12 lower at $297.47, September feeders closed $0.05 higher at $296.32 and October feeders closed $0.15 higher at $294.05. Traders seem to be indicating although the market endured a technical correction last week they still believe prices are plenty high as they're showing signs of exhaustion. At the midpoint session at Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri, compared to last week feeder steers were selling steady to $5.00 lower, and feeder heifers were trading $5.00 lower to $5.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 45%. The CME Feeder Cattle Index 5/16/2025: down $1.93, $298.86.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex felt some pressure throughout Monday as, although traders would like to support and push the contracts higher, the market's technical resistance is just too significant right now. June lean hogs closed $1.07 lower at $99.25, July lean hogs closed $0.60 lower at $103.57 and August lean hogs closed $0.52 lower at $103.10. It's always helpful when pork cutout values close higher -- but before traders put much clout in the higher note of pork cutout values, they're going to need to see cutout values close higher for a series of consecutive days. But the gains were noticeable Monday afternoon with the rib up $4.56, and the butt up $3.44. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $4.41 with a weighted average price of $92.51 on 1,164 head. Pork cutouts totaled 204.62 loads with 175.00 loads of pork cuts and 29.62 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.97, $101.09. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 480,000 head -- 14,000 head more than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. The CME Lean Hog Index 5/15/2025: up $0.24, $91.26.
TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Higher. Given that prices were up sharply this afternoon, it's likely packers need more hogs.
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