GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cattle contracts have traded mixed thus far throughout the day, but thankfully as Tuesday's noon hour approaches, the contracts are seeming to find more trader support. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. March corn is down 1 cent per bushel and March soybean meal is down $0.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 341.64 points and NASDAQ is up 229.40 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Up until the last hour, the live cattle market was trading mostly lower as traders seemed overwhelmed by the market's technical resistance. Lo and behold, as the noon hour nears, another gust of support has seemed to overcome the live cattle complex. February live cattle are up $0.15 at $236.15, April live cattle are down $0.22 at $237.77 and June live cattle are down $0.02 at $233.60. The market doesn't however seem confident in either direction as it's longing to see continued fundamental support to justify a higher trend. And it's not likely that enough support will develop until we see what happens in this week's fed cash cattle trade, which could mean a teeter-totter like behavior today in the futures complex. Still no trade has developed in the fed cash cattle complex and it's mostly likely that trade will be delayed until Thursday at the earliest and likely wait until Friday. It is assumed that prices will trend higher again this week as fed cash cattle supplies are tight, and packers can't afford to be short bought.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $0.37 ($369.27) and select down $2.55 ($364.57) with a movement of 59 loads (42.36 loads of choice, 4.51 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 12.24 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex isn't trading in the exact same manner as the live cattle complex is, as its market is taking more of a mixed approach into Tuesday's noon hour. More than anything, traders seem to want to keep the feeder cattle contracts aligned with the overall direction of the live cattle market. At the same time, traders know supplies are likely to remain thin in the near term and see that as a justification to keep the furthest deferred contracts trading higher. March feeders are down $0.07 at $362.52, April feeders are down $0.10 at $361.10 and May feeders are down $0.02 at $358.45.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is trading mostly higher into Tuesday's noon hour, although a couple of the nearby contacts are trading slightly lower. February lean hogs are up $0.17 at $88.47, April lean hogs down $0.15 at $96.55 and June lean hogs are up $0.10 at $109.22. More than anything, the market's uptick in consumer demand seems to be encouraging traders to continue to push the complex higher.
Hog prices are again not available on the Daily Direct Morning Hog report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 645 head have traded, and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $80.86. Pork cutouts total 133.63 loads with 120.79 loads of pork cuts and 12.84 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.62, $97.88. The projected lean hog index for 1/26/2026 is up $0.42 at $84.43, and the actual index for 1/23/2026 is up $0.39 at $84.01.
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