GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cattle contracts are continuing to rally into Thursday's noon hour, but the lean hog complex hasn't found the same support. Bids are on the table in the South, but no cattle have traded yet. July corn is down 5 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $1.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 387.35 points and NASDAQ is up 203.30 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle contracts are still mildly rallying as traders gingerly push the contracts higher and closer to resistance at the market's 40-day moving average. At this point, traders haven't seemed nervous about getting closer to that resistance threshold, which hopefully means they'll hold this momentum through Thursday's close. June live cattle are up $0.90 at $251.00, August live cattle are up $1.07 at $242.57 and October live cattle are up $1.55 at $235.25. Bids are on the table in three major feeding states, but because the offers are well below asking prices trade could be delayed for a while still. Asking prices are noted at $258 in the South but are not established in the North.
Thursday's WASDE report shared that beef production for 2026 was decreased by 109 million pounds as both fed and non-fed slaughter speeds have declined. However, it is worth nothing that the decline in slaughter is partially offset by heavier carcass weights. The quarterly steer price projections didn't show much of a change from May's report. The only quarter that saw an increase from last month was second quarter steers averaged $255 -- up $2.00 from las month. Steers in the third quarter are expected to average $252 and steers in the third quarter are expected to average $255 -- both of which are unchanged from a month ago. Beef imports for 2026 were steady at 6,109 million pounds, but beef exports for 2026 fell by 20 million pounds.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.59 ($394.88) and select down $0.41 ($375.30) with a movement of 63 loads (44.09 loads of choice, 8.10 loads of select, 7.39 loads of trim and 3.29 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Upon seeing the live cattle contracts scaling higher, the feeder cattle contracts are boldly pushing higher into Thursday's noon hour. August feeders are up $5.30 at $359.67, September feeders are up $4.72 at $356.10 and October feeders are up $4.65 at $352.37. Helping add some additional support to the market is the fact that buyers have been a tick more aggressive this week in the countryside as the board's higher trend seems to have them buying more confidently.
LEAN HOGS:
While the cattle contracts rally, the lean hog contracts continue to fall as traders aren't confident in the marketplace right now. Yes, midday pork cutout values may be higher, but traders have seen too much choppy trade lately to let that alone hold the market steady. July lean hogs are down $0.27 at $96.57, August lean hogs are up $0.12 at $95.55 and August lean hogs are up $0.15 at $95.57. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 6/10/2026 is down $0.02 at $92.90 and the actual index for 6/9/2026 is up $0.16 at $92.92. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.25 with a weighted average price of $97.60, ranging from $93.00 to $98.00 on 904 head and a five-day rolling average of $96.67. Pork cutouts total 137.43 loads with 128.47 loads of pork cuts and 8.95 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.05, $97.01.
Thursday's WASDE report shared that pork production for 2026 was increased by 10 million pounds as heavier carcass weights are more than offsetting the slight decline in production. Meanwhile quarterly hog prices saw a decrease from last month's report as hogs in the second quarter remained steady at $64.50, but hogs in the third quarter are now expected to average $69 (down $2.00) and hogs in the fourth quarter are now expected to average $74 (down $3.00). Pork imports for 2026 grew by 10 million pounds and pork exports for 2026 grew by 20 million pounds.
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