GENERAL COMMENTS:
Both the lean hog and feeder cattle markets are trading higher into Thursday's noon hour, but the live cattle complex is trading slightly lower as traders want to see what is going to happen with this week's cash market. At this point no new trade has developed, and it's looking like the week's business could be mostly delayed until Friday. December corn is down 1/4 cent per bushel and December soybean meal is down $0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 96.01 points and the NASDAQ is up 55.06 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 13,600 mt for 2025 2343 up 34% from the previous week and 40% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (7,700 mt), South Korea (1,500 mt) and Hong Kong (1,200 mt). Pork net sales of 42,400 mt for 2025 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 53% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (26,700 mt), Colombia (3,400 mt) and Japan (2,500 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
Following Wednesday's higher close, the live cattle complex is currently trading lower as traders seem to be keeping the market on hold, waiting to see what else surfaces from a fundamental sense before they push the contracts any higher. October live cattle are down $0.75 at $238.77, December live cattle are down $0.62 at $240.27 and February live cattle are down $0.32 at $241.50. Packer interest could improve at any moment, but for the time being, not a single bid is on the table. Asking prices are noted in the South at $245, but are still not established in the North. It's assumed that prices will trade steady if not a bit higher again this week as feedlot managers sit with enough leverage to simply roll their showlists over into next week if prices aren't what they want.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.20 ($413.04) and select down $1.86 ($385.85) with a movement of 66 loads (43.70 loads of choice, 4.79 loads of select, 8.52 loads of trim and 9.36 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The live cattle contracts may be trading lower, but the feeder cattle complex hasn't changed its direction as the market is pleased with all the support it has recently seen. Feeder cattle demand remains utterly incredible, and with buyers showing no clear signs of slowing down, traders feel comfortable allowing the contracts to continue to trade higher even though the live cattle market is trading in the opposite direction. September feeders are down $0.52 at $364.87, October feeders are up $0.22 at $364.42 and November feeders are up $0.47 at $363.00.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is keeping with its upward trek and not seeming too phased by the market's resistance at $94.00. October lean hogs are up $0.20 at $94.10, December lean hogs are up $0.42 at $86.92 and February lean hogs are up $0.62 at $89.25. What's pretty incredible about traders' recent move is that they're doing it with little to no fundamental support. Although pork cutout values are a tick higher this morning, demand has been weaker this week, and it's looking like packers are mostly done buying the cash market, as prices couldn't be posted this morning because of confidentiality.
The projected lean hog index for 8/27/2025 is down $0.20 at $106.43, and the actual index for 8/26/2025 is down $0.23 at $106.63. Pork cutouts total 155.67 loads with 126.05 loads of pork cuts and 29.62 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.36, $112.02. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 2,106 head have traded and that the market's five-day moving average sits at $108.51.
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