GENERAL COMMENTS:
It's been a mostly uneventful day thus far for the livestock complex as the cattle contracts continue to sink lower, but the lean hog contracts are inching higher. No new cash cattle trade has developed following Thursday's movement. December corn is up 2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $1.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 266.07 points and the NASDAQ is down 44.34 points.
Friday's export report shared that beef net sales of 16,600 mt for 2025 were up 22% from the previous week and 51% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (5,000 mt), South Korea (4,600 mt) and Taiwan (2,400 mt). Pork net sales of 23,700 mt for 2025 were down 44% from the previous week and 17% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (10,100 mt), Japan (2,300 mt) and Canada (2,100 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is continuing to etch lower and lower as the market isn't seeing the fundamental support it needs to convince traders that the market's direction should change. October live cattle are down $1.75 at $235.17, December live cattle are down $1.90 at $236.60 and February live cattle are down $1.97 at $237.90. Following the trade that developed in the cash market on Thursday, no new cash cattle trade has surfaced thus far today, and it's looking like the bulk of this week's business could be done with. So far this week Southern live cattle have traded anywhere from $242 to $243, which is steady to $1.00 higher than last week's weighted average, and Northern dressed cattle have traded at mostly $383, which is $2.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Asking prices for the cattle left to sell are firm at $244 plus in the South and $385 plus in the North.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $3.16 ($411.05) and select down $0.79 ($386.98) with a movement of 84 loads (62.22 loads of choice, 9.11 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 12.58 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
And again today, the feeder cattle complex is following in the same direction as that of the live cattle market, as even though demand in the countryside remains historic, traders are waving their white flag for the time being and are fixated on working the contracts lower. September feeders are down $1.55 at $358.27, October feeders are down $3.15 at $355.87 and November feeders are down $3.92 at $354.15. As time moves closer and closer to the end of September/early October, it will be interesting to see the sheer volume of calves traded at sale barns as more cattle were moved earlier this year.
LEAN HOGS:
The momentum that's run with the lean hog complex for the vast majority of the week continues to sustain through Friday's market as the contracts keep trading higher. October lean hogs are up $1.22 at $96.25, December lean hogs are up $1.10 at $88.40 and February lean hogs are up $0.87 at $90.37. It is helpful that today pork cutout values are higher, which is mainly because of the $5.07 increase in the picnic and the $4.13 jump in the loin.
The projected lean hog index for 9/4/2025 is down $0.05 at $105.92, and the actual index for 9/3/2025 is up $0.05 at $105.97. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $4.94 with a weighted average price of $100.88, ranging from $95.00 to $103.00 on 998 head and a five-day rolling average of $105.14. Pork cutouts total 240.29 loads with 222.18 loads of pork cuts and 18.11 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.60, $115.92.
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