GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a wild, rallying-type of day for the cattle complex, as traders were met with ample fundamental support and elected to push the contracts sharply higher because of it. Still no cash cattle trade has developed, but packer interest could improve on Thursday. September corn is down 1 3/4 cents per bushel and August soybean meal is down $4.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 81.38 points and the NASDAQ is up 252.87 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was an impressive day for the live cattle complex as the contracts closed mostly $2.00 higher, and again today, boxed beef prices jumped $4.00 to $5.00 higher. It's yet to be seen what the fed cash cattle market is going to do this week, but with all the other stars aligning (stronger futures complex, higher boxed beef prices), there's no doubt that feedlot managers are going to try to push prices higher. Asking prices are firm in the South at $238 to $240 and remain unestablished in the North. August live cattle closed $2.02 higher at $236.30, October live cattle closed $2.55 higher at $229.65 and December live cattle closed $2.57 higher at $230.72.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 116,000 head, 4,000 head more than a week ago and 6,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $4.92 ($374.86) and select up $5.42 ($351.36) with a movement of 83 loads (47.03 loads of choice, 16.68 loads of select, 7.96 loads of trim and 11.48 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady/somewhat higher. Given that so much of the market is supportive this week of the cattle complex, I tend to believe that prices will trade steady to somewhat higher, given that there are multiple venues of support helping advance the market this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex broke above $240 this afternoon. If I were to walk away saying nothing else other than the previous sentence, that would be all that needs to be said. Today, traders rocket-launched the feeder cattle contracts higher as trader support amid continued strong demand has given the complex more than enough encouragement. August feeders closed $3.97 higher at $345.02, September feeders closed $4.67 higher at $344.22 and October feeders closed $4.57 higher at $342.40. The spot September contract again broke above the market's resistance at $340 and closed at a new contract high. At the Winter Livestock Auction in Dodge City, Kansas, compared to last week, steers over 800 pounds sold $20.00 higher and heifers over 800 pounds traded $8.00 stronger. But the real kicker about the same was that steers and heifers under 800 pounds sold $40.00 to $60.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 61%. The CME feeder cattle index 8/5/2025: up $0.18, $336.21.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex traded in an indecisive manner throughout the day as the contracts felt the pressure of the market's resistance and couldn't fully convince traders that the contracts should all close higher ahead of the day's end. October lean hogs closed $0.82 lower at $91.97, December lean hogs closed $0.65 lower at $84.52 and February lean hogs closed $0.27 lower at $86.87. Some of the furthest deferred months closed higher, but the nearby contracts remained skeptical. And the market's fundamentals weren't all that helpful, as cash prices closed higher and on a big volume, but pork cutouts closed lower. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.25 with a weighted average price of $113.77 on 13,013 head. Pork cutouts totaled 371.54 loads with 323.77 loads of pork cuts and 47.77 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $2.90, $115.22. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 479,000 head, 9,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 8/4/2025: down $0.43, $109.56.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given that packers have now bought aggressively for two days this week, it's likely that they're all but done buying in this week's market.
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