GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex ended the day mixed, with the cattle contracts able to rally mildly through the day's end, while the lean hog contracts continue to struggle. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. July corn is down 1 3/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 322.24 points and the NASDAQ is down 220.02 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex ended the day slightly higher, with strong beef demand helping keep traders' morale strong, and it also helped that the contracts were no longer up against immediate resistance pressure following Monday's lower close. June live cattle closed $1.17 higher at $254.55, August live cattle closed $0.10 higher at $247.25 and October live cattle closed $0.35 higher at $239.30. The cash cattle market was quiet throughout the day again today, and it's most likely that trade will be delayed until Thursday or Friday. Both bids and asking prices remain elusive at this point.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 110,000 head -- 2,000 head more than a week ago and 12,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $3.61 ($395.75) and select up $3.35 ($393.58) with a movement of 81 loads (59.00 loads of choice, 10.44 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 11.68 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat lower. Given that next week is a holiday-shortened week, and that packers have bought aggressively in the cash market the last two weeks, there's a chance that the cash market may just trade steady.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Because the live cattle contracts rallied through the day's end, the feeder cattle contracts rallied through the day's close as well. August feeders closed $4.80 higher at $363.65, September feeders closed $4.80 higher at $361.00 and October feeders closed $4.55 higher at $357.65. At Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, compared to last week, feeder steers and heifers traded mostly steady with moderate to good demand. Weaned steer and heifer calves traded $10.00 to $20.00 lower in a light test and on a lower quality offering, and unweaned calves sold sharply lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 82%. The CME feeder cattle index 5/18/2026: not available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog contracts ended the day lower as the contracts simply didn't find enough support in the market today to justify advancing to any degree. June lean hogs closed $0.60 lower at $97.92, July lean hogs closed $0.60 lower at $102.15 and August lean hogs closed $1.12 lower at $102.10. Unfortunately, it's not looking like the market is going to muster up much support this week, as pork demand has been lagging. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog report, down $0.01 with a weighted average price of $94.87 on 3,595 head. Pork cutouts totaled 409.03 loads with 343.73 loads of pork cuts and 65.30 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.48, $96.88. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 485,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 5/15/2026: up $0.04, $90.50.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. At this point, it's looking like packers are only going to vaguely participate in this week's market.
No comments:
Post a Comment