GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a mixed Tuesday for the livestock complex as the cattle contracts rallied throughout the day but the lean hog complex struggled technically. Some light cash cattle trade was reported in the South but the North didn't see any sales develop. May corn is up 1 cent per bushel and May soybean meal is down $2.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 389.83 points and NASDAQ is down 154.58 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a mixed day for the live cattle complex. The futures market ran into resistance, but it was positive to see boxed beef prices close higher. June live cattle closed $1.15 lower at $212.52, August live cattle closed $1 lower at $208.37 and October live cattle closed $0.70 lower at $206.17. More than anything, it's likely that traders were cautious to overly support the cattle contracts any more in fear of pushing the market further into overbought territory. Some more light cash cattle trade developed in the South at $219, which is fully steady with Tuesday's trade and steady to $2 higher than last week's weighted average. No trade was reported in the North. Asking prices for cattle left to sell in the South remain firm at $220-plus, but asking prices in the North are still not established.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 119,000 head -- 2,000 head less than a week and a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $1.48 ($346.15) and select up $1.03 ($334.00) with a movement of 102 loads (65.19 loads of choice, 9.89 loads of select, 11.97 loads of trim and 15.41 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat higher. It's likely that the feedlot managers who are electing to wait the week out are going to demand higher prices as they have the flexibility on their end still to simply roll over their showlists if prices aren't what they deem acceptable.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex followed in the same direction as the live cattle contracts as traders are beginning to worry that the market has overextended itself. May feeders closed $1.25 lower at $294.45, August feeders closed $0.60 lower at $298.60 and September feeders closed $0.55 lower at $297.32. But even with the board's lower end, the demand in the countryside seems unphased. Buyers know that if they want to fulfill their grass orders, they need to get it done pronto. At Roswell Livestock Auction in Roswell, New Mexico, compared to their sale last week, steer and heifer calves weighing 300 to 350 pounds traded $18 to $25 higher, and those weighing 500 to 550 pounds traded $5 to $14 stronger. Steer calves weighing 550 to 600 pounds traded $20 higher, while the heifer mates of that weight group sold $11 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 17%. The CME feeder cattle index 5/6/2025: down $0.37, $293.41.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex couldn't muster much trader interest ahead of Wednesday's close, as the market simply didn't lend enough fundamental support for traders to see the need to push the contracts any higher. June lean hogs closed $0.25 lower at $97.32, July lean hogs closed $0.07 higher at $99.47 and August lean hogs closed $0.20 lower at $97.92. And continuing to not help matters is the mixed interest in pork demand. Hopefully, Thursday's export report shows some positive news. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.56 with a weighted average price of $93.02 on 5,660 head. Pork cutouts totaled 366.37 loads with 328.27 loads of pork cuts and 38.10 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.16, $95.54. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 471,000 head -- 10,000 head less than a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 5/5/2025: up $0.26, $90.13.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. It's likely that packers have fulfilled most of their cash needs for the week.
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