Monday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Cattle Inch Higher Thanks to Greater Technical Support

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Livestock futures are mixed Monday as the cattle complex has found some mild support, but the lean hog complex hasn't been as fortunate.

New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas and Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Kansas. December corn is up 5 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $1.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 206.04 points and NASDAQ is down 314.36 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

After opening Monday slightly lower, live cattle futures have turned higher, hoping greater support will arise throughout the week. Unfortunately, last week boxed beef prices were mostly lower and fed cash cattle traded lower too, as the dog days of summer are having their effect on the cattle complex. But after plunging lower ten straight days, it's refreshing to see the live cattle contracts higher and hopefully trader support will remain through closing. August live cattle are up $0.57 at $235.77, October live cattle are up $1.27 at $231.82 and December live cattle are up $1.12 at $231.40.

Last week Southern live cattle traded at $248, which is $7.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $393, which is $10.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average.

Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $2.59 ($380.09) and select down $0.34 ($367.99) with a movement of 68 loads (54.47 loads of choice, 3.70 loads of select, 6.93 loads of trim and 3.13 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

Upon seeing a little extra support in the live cattle contracts, the feeder cattle contracts are also trading higher into Monday's noon hour. August feeders are up $2.47 at $357.07, September feeders are up $2.12 at $353.15 and October feeders are up $1.75 at $349.10. Demand was mixed last week for feeder cattle, with a lot of sale barns noting that haying time has pulled some buyers out of the market.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex continues to trade mixed as the nearby contracts have found mild technical support this morning, while the rest of the contracts are trading slightly lower. August lean hogs are up $0.22 at $99.22, October lean hogs are down $0.35 at $84.75 and December lean hogs are down $0.62 at $75.62. Midday pork cutout values are a tick lower, but traders remain hopeful consumer support will be strong again this week and help encourage traders to continue to push the contracts higher. Unfortunately, the market's resistance at $100.00 in the spot August contract remains a brutal threshold for traders to try to maneuver. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 7/10/2026 is up $0.42 at $93.11 and the actual index for 7/9/2026 is up $0.34 at $92.69. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see only 328 head have traded and the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $96.92. Pork cutouts total 117.07 loads with 107.86 loads of pork cuts and 9.21 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.51, $100.83.