Tuesday Closing Livestock Market Update - Contracts Continue to Skate Lower

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock contracts ended the day lower as little fundamental support arose throughout the day. The fed cash cattle market also sat idle without any bids or asking prices having developed yet. December corn is up 6 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $3.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 130.76 points and the NASDAQ is down 302.47 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

Without any wild developments in the market's fundamentals, traders felt as though their safest option was to let the contracts drift lower through the day's end. August live cattle closed $0.67 lower at $238.42, October live cattle closed $0.62 lower at $234.02 and December live cattle closed $0.47 lower at $234.00. No trade has developed yet in the cash cattle market and both bids and asking prices remain elusive, too. 

Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 110,000 head -- steady with a week ago but 8,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $0.71 ($385.77) and select up $0.02 ($365.89) with a movement of 128 loads (81.47 loads of choice, 27.48 loads of select, 10.45 loads of trim and 8.33 loads of ground beef).

WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady/Lower. Given that packers were able to push the market lower last week and given the fact that they secured some much-needed inventory last week, it's likely that this week's market will trade steady at best.

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle contracts followed the live cattle market's direction and also ended the day lower. August feeders closed $0.15 higher at $360.65, September feeders closed $0.47 lower at $357.40 and October feeders closed $1.02 lower at $353.77. The market is currently hovering above its 100-day and 40-day moving averages in the spot August contract. This will remain an important threshold to continue to monitor, because if the contracts dip below that threshold, it could be difficult to pull back above that level. At the Kingsville Livestock Auction in Kingsville, Missouri, compared to last week, steers sold steady to firm, but heifers sold steady to $10.00 higher, with the biggest gains seen on those weighing 550 to 625 pounds. Slaughter cows traded steady to $4.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 74%. The CME feeder cattle index 7/3/2026: down $1.52, $371.11.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex also ended the day lower as traders weren't willing to put their necks out on the line without better support from the market's fundamentals. July lean hogs closed $0.10 higher at $93.45, August lean hogs closed $1.60 lower at $96.92 and October lean hogs closed $0.92 lower at $81.65. Until fundamental support improves, it's unlikely the contracts will trade much higher as traders are cautious and aware of the market's resistance at the $100 mark in the spot August contract. Hog prices averaged $96.42 on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, ranging from $94.75 to $98.00 on 7,482 head. Pork cutouts totaled 341.18 loads with 304.83 loads of pork cuts and 36.35 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.66, $97.91. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 479,000 head -- 13,000 head more than a week ago and 12,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 7/2/2026: down $0.12, $91.55.

WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Given that packers were quite active in Tuesday's cash market, they may not have to be as aggressive on Wednesday.