GENERAL COMMENTS:
With the help of a little extra trader interest, the livestock contracts were able to close higher Friday afternoon. No new cash cattle trade developed as packers had done most of their buying on Thursday. December corn is down 11 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $5.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 309.74 points and NASDAQ is up 30.23 points.
From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: December live cattle down $2.20, February live cattle down $0.22; November feeder cattle up $12.28, January feeder cattle up $0.9; December lean hogs down $0.90, February lean hogs up $0.03; December corn up $0.03 and March corn up $0.02.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex lucked out and was able to muster up some additional trader interest ahead of the week's close, but the market's fundamentals didn't improve ahead of the week's arrival. December live cattle closed $0.15 higher at $219.15, February live cattle closed $0.57 higher at $219.52 and April live cattle closed $0.97 higher at $219.57. No new cash cattle trade developed throughout the day as packers did most of their buying on Thursday. Throughout the week, Southern live cattle traded at mostly $228, which is $3.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle traded for mostly $351, which is $8.00 lower than last week's weighted average. February live cattle is a Type 3, neutral market.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 93,000 head -- 3,000 head less than a week ago and 28,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 12,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 576,000 head -- 16,000 head more than a week ago and 32,000 head less than a year ago.
Friday's WASDE report shared less than supportive news for the cattle and beef markets of 2025 and 2026. Beef production for 2025 fell by 70 million pounds from the last report in September, as fed cattle slaughter speeds have declined. The same similar trend is also noted for 2026 beef production as now the year is expected to yield 25,490 million pounds, which is down 100 million pounds from September's report. The biggest expected reason for the decline in slaughter speeds for 2026 is because fed cattle processing is expected to remain light, and with cattle spending more time on feed, marketings will be slower for at least the first half of the year. Quarterly steer prices were also disappointing as steers in the fourth quarter of 2025 are expected to average $234 (down $10.00), steers in the first quarter of 2026 are expected to average $242 (down $5.00) and steers in the second quarter are expected to average $248 (down $3.00). Beef imports for 2025 remained unchanged, but exports for the year fell by 10 million pounds.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $2.84 ($370.73) and select down $0.79 ($354.24) with a movement of 128 loads (97.54 loads of choice, 10.93 loads of select, 5.12 loads of trim and 14.87 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. With packers able to buy some inventory this week with a deferred delivery option, it's likely that they're building enough supply up around them that they won't have to support the cash market to a degree in which prices would inch higher.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex followed alongside the live cattle market, trading higher through the day's close. November feeders closed $1.67 higher at $338.67, January feeders closed $2.10 higher at $320.55 and March feeders closed $1.57 higher at $313.35. Thankfully with the live cattle market's support, the feeder cattle complex was able to move further away from the support plane at $315 in the spot January contract.
The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that throughout the state this week, feeder steers traded $4.00 to $8.00 higher, but feeder heifers sold unevenly steady. Steer calves sold $12.00 to $16.00 lower and heifer calves traded $3.00 to $9.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold $6.00 to $11.00 lower and slaughter bulls traded $2.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 47%. The CME feeder cattle index 11/13/2025: up $1.31, $343.73.
LEAN HOGS:
With the help of traders, and a slight uptick in consumer demand, the lean hog complex was able to close higher Friday afternoon. December lean hogs closed $0.42 higher at $78.50, February lean hogs closed $0.52 higher at $79.37 and April lean hogs closed $0.30 higher at $83.15. It will be vital for the market to see continued consumer demand and interest because if support doesn't resonate, it's likely that the complex will continue to trade lower.
Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $2.02 with a weighted average price of $75.84 on 1,311 head. Pork cutouts totaled 406.73 loads with 366.77 loads of pork cuts and 39.96 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.96, $97.22. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 488,000 head -- 22,000 head more than a week ago and 7,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 286,000 head. The CME lean hog index 11/12/2025: down $0.30, $88.83.
Friday's WASDE report also shared less than supportive news for the hog and pork markets of 2025 and 2026. Pork production for 2025 fell by 80 million pounds as slaughter speeds have been reduced in recent months. Pork production for 2026 was also reduced from September's last report as production speeds aren't expected to increase anytime soon and the market will have lighter inventories at that time as well. Hog prices for 2025 and 2026 weren't supportive either as hogs in the fourth quarter of 2025 are expected to average $66 (down $3.00), but hogs in the first quarter of 2026 are expected to average $65 and hogs in the second quarter of 2026 are expected to average $70 (both of which are unchanged from September's data). Pork imports for 2025 grew by 10 million pounds from September's last report, but exports remain unchanged for the year.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Packers rarely jump in the cash hog market aggressively on Mondays.
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