GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a painstaking day for the cattle complex as the contracts fell sharply lower thanks to technical turmoil. A few sales did develop in the North, but there weren't enough cattle traded to say that any sort of a weekly trend has been established. December corn is down 2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $3.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 196.39 points and the NASDAQ is up 80.79 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex fared slightly better than the feeder cattle contracts did, but the same hollowed, panicked feeling overtook the marketplace throughout the day. October live cattle closed $5.62 lower at $230.17, December live cattle closed $6.40 lower at $231.17 and February live cattle closed $6.87 lower at $232.35. There are several reasons why the futures market could have plummeted throughout the day -- traders' fear of the futures complex being overbought, concern growing knowing that fundamental support may be weaker in the weeks ahead if boxed beef prices and cash cattle prices seasonally trade lower, or remarks made from President Trump over the weekend that when his policies go into effect that everything will be cheaper, including beef. Nevertheless, the pressure simply became too much for the market to bear, and by Tuesday's close, the cattle complex closed sharply lower. Traders did keep the spot October contract above the market's 40-day moving average, which will be a threshold to monitor closing in the days ahead. There was a thin movement of cattle noted in Nebraska at $378, which is $5.00 lower than last week's weighted average, but there surely wasn't enough traded to say that any sort of trend was established for the week.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 118,000 head, 2,000 head less than a week ago and 8,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $2.02 ($407.67) and select up $1.62 ($386.96) with a movement of 156 loads (95.45 loads of choice, 35.64 loads of select, 6.04 loads of trim and 19.21 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. With packers able to secure more inventory last week and the futures market's weaker trend, cash cattle will likely trade lower this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
What a day, what a day it was. There are so many things one could point to as to "why" the futures market could have fallen sharply lower (traders fear of market's potentially overextended position, the concern that boxed beef prices are going to seasonally regress, the anticipation that fed cash cattle prices could trade lower this week, or President Trump's casual comment made on Sunday that stated, "Once our policies kick in the price of beef will go down. It all will go down," but regardless of the rhyme or reason, the feeder cattle contracts did fall sharply lower throughout Tuesday's trade closing limit lower at $9.25 lower throughout all the contracts. September feeders closed $9.25 lower at $351.70, October feeders closed $9.25 lower at $349.92 and November feeders closed $9.25 lower at $348.87. And although there was turmoil seen throughout the futures complex, the market saw mostly stable trading in the countryside.
At Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri, compared to their last sale two weeks ago, steers under 450 pounds traded $10.00 to $15.00 lower, but the heavier weights traded as much as $10.00 higher. Feeder heifers traded unevenly from $8.00 lower to $10.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 68%. The CME feeder cattle index 9/8/2025: down $1.17, $365.86.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex rounded out the day slightly weaker, but the market didn't endure near the pressure that the cattle complex did. October lean hogs closed $0.97 higher at $96.12, December lean hogs closed $0.30 lower at $87.85 and February lean hogs closed $0.45 lower at $90.22. More than anything, it seemed as though traders "checked up" their support of the lean hog contracts as the market is up against resistance pressure. And not to mention, pork cutout values did dip lower this afternoon, with the biggest losses being seen in the belly, which fell $5.39, and the loin, which dropped $3.10. Hog prices closed Higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $2.27 with a weighted average price of $106.10 on 13,810 head. Pork cutouts totaled 321.60 loads with 273.94 loads of pork cuts and 47.66 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $2.22, $114.16. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 489,000 head, 8,000 head more than a week ago and 4,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 9/5/2025: down $0.01, $105.91.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given that packers were so aggressive in today's cash market, it's likely that they'll be less aggressive on Wednesday.
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