GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex had a lousy day where essentially not enough fundamental support developed, so the contracts simply ended the day weaker. Some light cash cattle trade was noted in the North, but not enough cattle traded to say that any sort of trend has been established for the week. July corn is down 9 1/2 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $1.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 645.47 points and the NASDAQ is up 399.65 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The livestock complex had a lousy day where essentially not enough fundamental support developed, so the contracts simply ended the day weaker. Some light cash cattle trade was noted in the North, but not enough cattle traded to say that any sort of trend has been established for the week. July corn is down 9 1/2 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $1.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 645.47 points and the NASDAQ is up 399.65 points.
FEEDER CATTLE:
As strange as it may seem, the feeder cattle complex was able to round out the day higher, even though the live cattle complex closed lower. The real test will come on Thursday when the market is challenged to either continue with its bullish front or be pressured to tuck its tail and retreat. Personally, with feeder cattle demand mixed at best right now in the countryside and with the live cattle contracts trading lower, I'm led to believe that the market's resistance pressure will be victorious in that fight. August feeders closed $2.12 higher at $365.77, September feeders closed $1.62 higher at $362.62 and October feeders closed $1.22 higher at $362.62. At the Producers Livestock Auction in Salina, Utah, compared to last week, feeder steers sold unevenly steady. Slaughter cows traded steady to $3.00 higher, while slaughter bulls weren't well tested. The CME feeder cattle index 5/19/2026: up $2.98, $372.44.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex ended the day lower as once again the market is simply disgusted with the lack of support it's currently seeing. Without enough support from either the cash market or consumer demand, the market has no other suitable option but to trade lower for the time being. June lean hogs closed $0.65 lower at $97.27, July lean hogs closed $0.17 lower at $101.97 and August lean hogs closed $0.27 lower at $101.82. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.11 with a weighted average price of $93.76 on 2,539 head. Pork cutouts totaled 271.49 loads with 230.84 loads of pork cuts and 40.66 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.41, $95.47. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 482,000 head -- 3,000 head more than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 5/18/2026: up $0.05, $90.55.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Packers have shown that they don't intend to do much in the cash market this week.
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