Thursday Midday Livestock Market Update - Lackadaisical Tones Take Over Complex

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Thus far it's been a quiet and mundane day for the livestock complex without much developing. There's a single cash bid on the table in Kansas at $253; otherwise no cash business has developed. July corn is up 3 3/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $3.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 36.52 points and NASDAQ is up 206.26 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

With boxed beef prices lower and still no cash cattle trade developing, the live cattle futures are trading slightly lower into Thursday's noon hour. June live cattle are down $0.92 at $250.50, August live cattle are down $0.27 at $242.22 and October live cattle are down $0.27 at $233.70. A single bid is on the table in Kansas at $253, but otherwise the cash market sits idle with no business yet. With it being a holiday-shortened week, export data will be released on Friday.

Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $2.23 ($392.49) and select down $1.96 ($387.33) with a movement of 57 loads (44.54 loads of choice, 5.37 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 6.79 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex is also trading mostly lower, other than the November 2026 and January 2027 contracts. But without the support of the live cattle contracts, the feeder cattle complex isn't willing to boldly step out and trade higher by itself. August feeders are down $0.22 at $354.40, September feeders are down $0.10 at $351.70 and October feeders are down $0.12 at $348.35.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog contracts are lower as traders aren't willing to advance the contracts following Wednesday's modest move higher. It's unfortunate because Thursday there's signs of stronger consumer support with the midday pork cutout values up over $2.00. But traders are leery of being too ambitious. June lean hogs are down $0.55 at $97.05, July lean hogs are down $0.07 at $102.07 and August lean hogs are down $0.10 at $100.75.

The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 5/27/2026 is up $0.34 at $90.92 and the actual index for 5/26/2026 is down $0.12 at $90.58. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.03 with a weighted average price of $94.47, ranging from $91.50 to $95.00 on 1,207 head and a five-day rolling average of $94.30. Pork cutouts total 231.27 loads with 192.25 loads of pork cuts and 39.02 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.37, $100.72.