GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock contracts are trading fully higher into midday Monday as traders are pleased with last week's Cattle on Feed report and are anxious to see tomorrow's Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas and Kansas, but lower in Nebraska/Colorado. March corn is up 2 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 260.07 points and the NASDAQ is up 129.68 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Following last week's bullish Cattle on Feed report and somewhat bullish fed cash cattle trade, the live cattle contracts are currently trading higher into Monday's noon hour and are again trading alongside the market's 100-day moving average. Traders would like to conquer that threshold, but without knowing for sure how much fundamental support is going to remain in the market, given that it will be a holiday-shortened week both this week and next, traders remain cautious about breaking through that barrier right now. February live cattle are up $1.00 at $231.80, April lean hogs are up $1.55 at $231.55 and June lean hogs are up $1.65 at $225.47. It is helpful to note boxed beef prices are higher again today, showing ample consumer support heading into the Christmas holiday. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas and Kansas, but lower in Nebraska/Colorado.
Last week Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $355 to $358, which is $2.00 to $4.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average, but Southern live cattle traded at mostly $228, which is $2.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.10 ($362.73) and select up $6.02 ($352.04) with a movement of 37 loads (18.92 loads of choice, 3.91 loads of select, 5.00 loads of trim and 8.99 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Today is the first chance that traders have had to fully react to Friday's bullish Cattle on Feed report, and they're boldly continuing to push the feeder cattle contracts higher, incrementally moving the contracts past the 100-day moving average. January feeders are up $2.10 at $347.70, March feeders are up $2.25 at $341.65 and April feeders are up $2.52 at $340.12. Given the strong note of higher boxed beef prices this morning, and the higher trend in the live cattle contracts, it's likely that the market will be able to maintain this rally through the day's close.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog contracts are trading slightly higher into midday Monday as traders are hopeful that more support will develop and allow the contracts to trade above the resistance at $90.00. Do note that on Tuesday (tomorrow), the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report will be released. February lean hogs are up $0.57 at $85.07, April lean hogs are up $0.60 at $89.72 and June lean hogs are up $0.52 at $102.22.
The projected lean hog index for 12/19/2025 is down $0.02 at $83.71, and the actual index for 12/18/2025 is down $0.15 at $83.73. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 191 head have traded this morning, and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $69.67. Pork cutouts total 148.63 loads with 124.40 loads of pork cuts and 24.23 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.74, $99.02.
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