GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is off to a weaker start as the market needs fundamental support to help encourage traders to push the contracts higher. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Nebraska/Colorado, about steady in Texas, but lower in Kansas. July corn is up 5 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $2.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 483.30 points and NASDAQ is down 121.17 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Following last week's tremendous rally, the market seems to be inching into the new week asking: Now what? Luckily, boxed beef prices are higher which traders will find some comfort in; but with the futures contracts trading in a slightly weaker manner again this week, fundamental support and reassurance is going to be vital if the market is to continue to trade higher. August live cattle are down $2.37 at $245.45, October live cattle are down $2.55 at $239.90 and December live cattle are down $2.47 at $239.37. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Nebraska/Colorado, about steady in Texas, but lower in Kansas.
Last week Northern dressed cattle traded anywhere from $392 to $405, but mostly at $400, which is $14.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. And Southern live cattle traded anywhere from $250 to $256, but mostly at $255 to $256, which is $9.00 to $10.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.54 ($391.65) and select up $1.83 ($388.88) with a movement of 51 loads (38.62 loads of choice, 2.62 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 9.86 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
As to be expected, the feeder cattle contracts are following right in line with the live cattle market's lower trend. Not only are traders keenly aware of the slight hesitation in the live cattle complex, but sale barns have also been reporting buyers being more selective in recent weeks as they're getting their spring grass orders filled. Needless to say, the combination of cautiousness on the board mixed with touch-and-go support in the countryside has led the feeder cattle contracts to a weaker open on Monday. May feeders are down $5.07 at $366.32, August feeders are down $6.12 at $366.05 and September feeders are down $6.40 at $364.30.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is also lower as traders can't seem to find enough technical or fundamental support in the hog complex to justify pushing the market higher. June lean hogs are down $0.85 at $100.42, July lean hogs are down $0.92 at $102.45 and August lean hogs are down $1.02 at $102.82. Hopefully the market finds some support here as the next support plane is a steep downward step to $96.00. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 5/1/2026 is down $0.27 at $91.03, and the actual index for 4/30/2026 is down $0.11 at $91.30. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 20 head have traded Monday morning and the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $92.74. Pork cutouts total 148.31 loads with 129.58 loads of pork cuts and 18.73 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.35, $97.94.
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