GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cattle complex may have been worried about fundamental support, which is ultimately why both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts closed lower as traders deemed there wasn't enough support currently in the marketplace to justify trading the contracts higher, but the lean hog complex was a different story as it once again successfully closed higher. Still no fed cash cattle trade has developed. March corn is down 1 3/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is down $0.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 416.22 points and the NASDAQ is up 244.47 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex attempted to trade higher earlier in the day, but ultimately, the market's technical resistance was found to be too much of a barrier for the market to conquer at this time. If later in the week the fed cash cattle market is indeed able to trade cattle for higher prices, then there's a chance that the market could potentially attempt to conquer that threshold, but at this point, there simply wasn't enough fundamental support around for traders to successfully challenge that threshold. February live cattle closed $0.42 lower at $235.60, April live cattle closed $0.60 lower at $237.40 and June live cattle closed $0.37 lower at $233.25.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 112,000 head, 2,000 head less than a week ago and 11,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $0.79 ($368.11) and select down $1.93 ($365.19) with a movement of 102 loads (75.92 loads of choice, 6.73 loads of select, 4.25 loads of trim and 15.27 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. Even though packers bought a respectable volume in last week's market, prices will likely trade higher again this week as feedlot managers know that packers need more inventory and they're currently in a position that if they don't see the prices they'd like, they can simply roll their showlists over into the upcoming week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex also lost its momentum as the day traded onward, as traders weren't willing to advance the complex when the live cattle contracts were trending lower. It's been tough to note feeder cattle price trends in the countryside, as most sale barns have been shut down early this week while much of the country has been blasted with snow and arctic temperatures. March feeders closed $0.60 lower at $362.00, April feeders closed $0.55 lower at $360.65 and May feeders closed $0.52 lower at $357.95. The CME feeder cattle index 1/26/2026: up $1.16, $364.73.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex didn't weaken throughout Tuesday's hours as the market successfully closed higher once again. Today was the first time in multiple trading days that pork cutout values closed lower, but luckily, trader support remained ample, and cash prices closed higher, too. February lean hogs closed $0.75 higher at $89.05, April lean hogs closed $0.10 higher at $96.82 and June lean hogs closed $0.25 higher at $109.37. It will be interesting to see how pork cutout values close Wednesday afternoon, as most of the cuts closed lower Tuesday afternoon. Pork cutouts totaled 275.54 loads with 240.40 loads of pork cuts and 35.14 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.57, $95.69. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $1.57 with a weighted average price of $84.82. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 483,000 head, 5,000 head less than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 1/23/2026: up $0.39, $84.01.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Packers were slightly more aggressive in Tuesday's market, but they still don't likely have enough support for the entire week yet.
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