GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex closed on opposite ends, with the cattle complex receiving additional technical support that drove the cattle contracts higher, but the lean hog complex continued to drift lower through the day's end. March corn is down 1 1/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 66.74 points and the NASDAQ is down 36.00 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a breakout day for the live cattle complex as traders elected to push the live cattle contracts out of their sideways trading range, as robust trader interest simply drove the contracts higher. The livestock contracts are anticipatory markets, and it's almost as though traders simply decided that today was the day that a little move position was built into the live cattle complex, as everyone knows that the trajectory is steady to somewhat higher with demand strong and supplies limited. February live cattle closed $3.25 higher at $242.35, April live cattle closed $3.55 higher at $240.97 and June live cattle closed $2.77 higher at $236.57. Still no cash cattle trade has developed and both bids and asking prices remain elusive.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 116,000 head, 3,000 head more than a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $1.63 ($365.92) and select down $0.32 ($362.58) with a movement of 102 loads (69.91 loads of choice, 7.08 loads of select, 16.99 loads of trim and 7.61 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. With supplies of market-ready cattle thin, packers will likely end up paying more money again in this week's fed cash cattle market.
FEEDER CATTLE:
With the technical support of seeing the live cattle contracts trading higher, it was almost easy for the feeder cattle contracts to jump on board too and drive their contracts higher. March feeders closed $2.67 higher at $367.45, April feeders closed $3.32 higher at $364.60 and May feeders closed $3.65 higher at $360.42. At the Winter Livestock Auction in La Junta, Colorado, compared to last week, feeder steers sold unevenly steady across all weight classes. Feeder heifers under 700 pounds sold sharply lower, but heifers over 700 pounds sold $6.00 to $8.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 63%. The CME feeder cattle index 2/10/2026: up $0.53, $374.36.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex continued to plummet through Wednesday's close, as the market has been enduring significant technical pressure as of late. And with pork cutout values recently seeing a dip in demand as well, it's likely that the complex will continue to scale lower. April lean hogs closed $1.65 lower at $93.85, June lean hogs closed $1.42 lower at $107.47 and July lean hogs closed $1.17 lower at $109.37. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.43 with a weighted average price of $88.17 on 2,600 head. Pork cutouts totaled 283.46 loads with 246.14 loads of pork cuts and 37.31 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.69, $93.77. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 495,000 head, 5,000 head more than a week ago and 11,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 2/9/2026: down $0.14, $86.32.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. With the futures market and pork cutout values trending lower, it's likely that packers will hardly participate in the cash hog market.
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