GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was another lackluster day for the livestock complex as the contracts closed mixed. A few sales were noted in the North at $360, which is $5.00 lower than last week's weighted average, but very few cattle have traded. With the US government shut down, the weekly export report will not be released. December corn is up 1 cent per bushel and December soybean meal is up $0.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 43.21 points and the NASDAQ is up 95.15 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It ended up being a mixed day again for the live cattle complex as the nearby contracts grew less optimistic throughout the day, but the deferred contracts were able to continue to trade higher through the day's close. October live cattle closed $0.75 lower at $231.10, December live cattle closed $0.27 lower at $234.50 and February live cattle closed steady at $237.17. Once again today, the spot December contract struggled to find enough support to push its market above the 40-day moving average, as traders looked at the few cash cattle deals that have been noted this week and saw weaker prices, and continue to see declining boxed beef prices. A few deals were marked in Nebraska at $360, which is $5.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Asking prices are noted in the South at $237 to $240, and in the North at $365 plus.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 115,000 head, 5,000 head less than a week ago and 9,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $2.56 ($368.47) and select down $0.36 ($346.89) with a movement of 151 loads (93.29 loads of choice, 34.93 loads of select, 7.16 loads of trim and 15.30 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. Without anything powerful developing in the market's fundamentals this week, this week's cash cattle trade will likely be lower again.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex was trudging higher throughout the morning's trade, but as the market crept closer and closer to the resistance threshold, the market grew less confident in itself and opted to pull back ahead of the day's close. October feeders closed $2.05 lower at $358.97, November feeders closed $1.75 lower at $357.60 and January feeders closed $1.02 lower at $352.02. Without seeing wild fundamental support develop in this week in the cattle complex, it wouldn't be surprising to see the contracts trade sideways through the week's end, as it's unlikely that traders want to challenge that resistance threshold at this point. At the Winter Livestock Auction in La Junta, Colorado, compared to last week, feeder steers under 650 pounds traded sharply higher, but steers over 650 pounds sold $3.00 to $5.00 lower. Feeder heifers under 600 pounds sold sharply higher as well, but feeder heifers over 600 pounds sold $1.00 to $3.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 39%. The CME feeder cattle index 9/30/2025: down $0.62, $364.71.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex closed lower as the market continues to struggle to find any substantial support. It's been a painful week for the pork demand, and with the carcass price lower again this afternoon, it comes as no real surprise that the contracts again drifted lower through the day's end. October lean hogs closed $1.42 lower at $98.42, December lean hogs closed $1.82 lower at $86.90 and February lean hogs closed $1.27 lower at $89.02. The biggest hindrance this afternoon on the carcass price was the belly, which closed $9.68 lower. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.82 with a weighted average price of $100.43 on 3,730 head. Pork cutouts totaled 336.66 loads with 298.43 loads of pork cuts and 38.23 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.99, $108.35. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 490,000 head, 6,000 head more than a week ago and 5,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 9/29/2025: down $0.05, $104.73.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. At this point, packers have likely fulfilled most of their needs in the cash market.
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