GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock contracts are trading lower into Thursday's noon hour as traders simply aren't confident with the current level of fundamental support to push the contracts any higher. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. May corn is down 2 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 96.95 points and NASDAQ is up 82.39 points.
Thursday's export report shared beef net sales of 12,100 metric tons (mt) for 2026 were down 31% from the previous week, but up 12% from the prior four-week average. Increases were primarily for South Korea (4,900 MT, including decreases of 500 MT), Japan (2,400 MT, including decreases of 400 MT), Mexico (1,400 MT), Taiwan (1,300 MT, including 100 MT switched from Hong Kong and decreases of 200 MT), and Canada (400 MT). Pork exports of 13,400 MT were up 1 percent from the previous week, but down 2 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to South Korea (4,200 MT), Japan (3,000 MT), Hong Kong (1,500 MT), Mexico (1,400 MT), and Taiwan (1,100 MT).
LIVE CATTLE
It's been a grim day thus far for the live cattle complex as currently most of the contracts are trading anywhere from $2.00 to $3.00 lower into Thursday's noon hour. The big question on everyone's mind is: Has the market topped? Or is this just a setback as traders wait for the cash cattle market to trade? Up to this point, there's still been virtually no trade in the cash market, and it's very likely trade could be delayed until after Friday's Cattle on Feed report. Bids of $248 live in Kansas and $388 dressed in Nebraska are currently on the table, but still no sizeable volumes have traded. Personally, I'm led to believe that with packers unable to get more than 40,000 head bought last week in the cash market. they'll need to be more aggressive this week and feedlot managers may be able to push prices higher, or at least hold them steady. But as always, time will tell.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $0.56 ($382.54) and select up $0.46 ($379.04) with a movement of 52 loads (34.84 loads of choice, 4.05 loads of select, 7.89 loads of trim and 5.64 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE
And in reflecting a similar reaction of the live cattle contracts, the feeder cattle contracts are also trading lower into Thursday's noon hour. April feeders are down $1.92 at $371.57, May feeders are down $4.52 at $266.42 and August feeders are down $4.37 at $367.82. And until either the live cattle contracts show some stability and potentially trade higher, or until the cash cattle market trades, it's likely the feeder cattle contracts will keep with this lower trend.
LEAN HOGS
Again on Thursday, even with midday pork cutout values up close to $2.00 higher, the lean hog contracts are trading lower. June lean hogs are down $0.15 at $101.80, July lean hogs are down $0.42 at $104.55 and August lean hogs are down $0.35 at $104.80. Unfortunately, the market seems committed to keeping with its current downward trend, and the next support plane is close to $94.00 in the spot June contract.
The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 4/15/206 is up $0.06 at $90.66 and the actual index for 4/14/2026 is up $0.27 at $90.60. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 349 head have traded this morning and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $90.85. Pork cutouts total 190.56 load with 146.23 loads of pork cuts and 44.34 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.90, $97.04.
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