Thursday Midday Livestock Market Update - Without Stronger Fundamental Support, Traders Push Contracts Lower

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Without better fundamental support, the livestock contracts are trading lower into Thursday's noon hour. Bids have surfaced in Nebraska, but no cash cattle trade has developed just yet. December corn is down 2 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $8.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 149.71 points and NASDAQ is down 163.29 points.

Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 13,000 mt for 2026 were down 11% from the previous week but up 11% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were South Korea (4,600 mt), Japan (2,400 mt) and Mexico (2,100 mt). Pork net sales of 26,900 mt for 2026 were down 24% from the previous week and 16% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (19,100 mt), South Korea (3,400 mt) and Japan (2,300 mt).

LIVE CATTLE:

The live cattle complex is trading lower into Thursday's noon hour as the market continues to look for fundamental support, but no cash cattle trade has developed just yet. Bids of $340 to $345 are currently on the table in Nebraska, but otherwise, no packer interest has developed. There's still a chance that trade could be delayed until Friday as feedlot managers may hold out to see if packer demand improves as time passes. It's unlikely packers will get too much more aggressive this week as they were able to secure just over 88,000 head in last week's market. October live cattle are down $0.87 at $220.72, December live cattle are down $1.27 at $222.50 and February live cattle are down $1.47 at $225.07.

Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.75 ($374.87) and select down $2.12 ($352.09) with a movement of 67 loads (41.08 loads of choice, 14.97 loads of select, 4.42 loads of trim and 6.19 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle contracts are also trading lower, in line with the live cattle complex. October feeders are down $1.90 at $336.25, November feeders are down $2.62 at $333.17 and January feeders are down $3.40 at $327.00. Until either the live cattle contracts or the fed cash cattle market trade higher, it's likely that this slightly weaker tone will remain the theme for the feeder cattle market.

LEAN HOGS:

Without stronger interest from consumers, traders have again elected to allow the lean hog contracts to drift lower as the market's fundamental support is weak. October lean hogs are down $0.72 at $76.20, December lean hogs are down $0.60 at $68.50 and February lean hogs are down $0.27 at $69.65. And unfortunately, given the time of the week -- even if pork demand were to improve this afternoon or on Friday -- it's unlikely that traders will become much more supportive of the complex at this point in time. The projected lean hog index for 10/7/2026 is down $0.50 at $78.41, and the actual index for 10/6/2026 is down $0.31 at $78.91. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.42 with a weighted average price of $72.54, ranging from $69.00 to $80.00 on 726 head and a five-day rolling average of $75.32. Pork cutouts total 168.90 loads with 145.16 loads of pork cuts and 23.74 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.14, $81.57.