GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex ended the day higher as traders lent the cattle and lean hog contracts additional support ahead of Wednesday's close. No new cash cattle trade developed throughout the day, but bids were offered in both regions. December corn is up 13 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $10.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 113.52 points and the NASDAQ is down 21.10 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex ended the day mostly higher, aside from the spot October contract, which closed just mildly lower. Nothing fundamentally changed for the better in the complex, but instead, traders lent the contracts a little bit more support ahead of the afternoon's close, which helped change their position from red to green before closing. October live cattle closed $0.17 lower at $210.77, December live cattle closed $0.45 higher at $212.57 and February live cattle closed $0.57 higher at $214.07. Following Tuesday's light business, packers offered bids in the cash market on Wednesday, but trade sat mostly idle as packers don't want to see prices advance, and obviously feedlot managers would like to see the market move higher. Bids were offered throughout the day in the South at $218 to $220, but Southern cattle are priced at mostly $223 to $225, and northern bids were offered throughout the day in Nebraska at $218 to $245. More trade will need to develop in the South, especially before the week is over. On Tuesday, Northern cattle traded at mostly $345, which is $10.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 105,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 13,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $3.40 ($385.13) and select down $6.30 ($362.68) with a movement of 119 loads (69.37 loads of choice, 19.95 loads of select, 7.69 loads of trim and 22.07 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. The market's trend this week is going to be lower.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex ended the day mostly higher, aside from its two nearby contracts which closed just mildly lower. Just like the live cattle complex, traders were willing to throw the market a bone ahead of closing, which helped the contracts end the day mostly higher. Nothing has changed with the market's fundamentals, making the outlook bullish for the immediate future. September feeders closed $0.27 lower at $319.00, October live cattle closed $0.92 higher at $314.25 and November feeders closed $1.80 higher at $307.50. At the Winter Livestock Auction in Dodge City, Kansas, compared to last week, steers over 800 pounds traded $5.00 to $10.00 lower and heifers over 700 pounds traded $5.00 to $10.00 lower as well. Stocker steer and heifer calves traded sharply lower. Boning utility slaughter cows traded $10.00 lower, while lean utility slaughter cows sold $5.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 54%. The CME feeder cattle index 8/25/2026: down $1.19, $334.27.
LEAN HOGS:
And like the cattle contracts, the lean hog contracts finally found some technical support in Wednesday's market, which helped the contracts close higher, even with both pork cutout values ending the day lower and cash prices too. October lean hogs closed $0.45 higher at $80.90, December lean hogs closed $0.62 higher at $70.97 and February lean hogs closed $0.55 higher at $73.72. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.27 with a weighted average price of $90.75 on 11,391 head. Pork cutouts totaled 273.80 loads, with 236.35 loads of pork cuts and 37.45 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $2.12, $95.55. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 484,000 head -- 13,000 head more than a week ago and steady with a year ago. The CME lean hog index 8/24/2026: down $0.21, $92.65.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. With pork demand lower, it's unlikely that packers are going to advance the cash market at this point.
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