Wednesday Closing Livestock Market Update - Cattle Question if Enough Support is Going to Develop this Week

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex again ended the day mixed with the cattle contracts questioning if enough support is going to develop throughout the week to justify pushing the contracts higher, but the lean hog contracts closed a tick stronger. Some light cash cattle trade developed in Nebraska at $350 to $352. December corn is up 3 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $1.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 97.53 points and the NASDAQ is up 72.04 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

With concerns rising that the market may not see the level of fundamental support which the complex saw last week -- traders grew anxious throughout the afternoon and allowed the contracts to fade lower. October December live cattle closed $3.52 lower at $227.32, February live cattle closed $3.07 lower at $230.50 and April live cattle closed $3.02 lower at $232.70. Some light cash cattle trade developed this afternoon in North at $350 to $352, and while it's early in the week to say that any sort of a trend has developed yet -- a lower trend is obvious in that price range. Bids of $226 were offered throughout the day in Kansas, but no Southern trade was noted. Given that feedlot managers carried more supply into this week's trade, there's a chance that prices could indeed be lower. 

Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 109,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 9,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $3.22 ($369.00) and select down $3.60 ($355.25) with a movement of 107 loads (63.57 loads of choice, 16.65 loads of select, 10.08 loads of trim and 16.40 loads of ground beef).

THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. Given that the market has already seen some lower trade develop, it's likely that the week's trend will be weaker.

FEEDER CATTLE:

And as to be expected, the feeder cattle contracts closed lower too upon seeing a weakening trend in the live cattle contracts. October feeders closed $1.37 lower at $351.42, November feeders closed $3.27 lower at $346.75 and January feeders closed $5.00 lower at $342.10. At Beaver Livestock Auction in Beaver, Oklahoma, compared to last week feeder steers over 600 pounds traded $5.00 to $15.00 lower, but those weighing 800 to 1,000 pounds traded steady to $2.00 higher. Feeder heifers over 700 pounds sold $10.00 to $20.00 higher, but those weighing 600 to 700 pounds traded $15.00 lower. Steer and heifer calves sold $5.00 to $15.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 73%. The CME feeder cattle index 10/27/2026: up $0.33, $351.00.

LEAN HOGS:

And although pork cutout values again ended the day lower, traders lent the lean hog complex some modest support which allowed the contracts to close higher. Following the grave decline in which the market has seen over the last three months, any help from traders is warmly welcomed even if it's just for a day's higher end. December lean hogs closed $3.42 lower at $58.60, February lean hogs closed $0.75 lower at $64.17 and April lean hogs closed $0.30 higher at $70.62. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.38 with a weighted average price of $56.56 on 6,663 head. Pork cutouts totaled 338.15 loads with 287.11 loads of pork cuts and 51.04 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.64, $72.45. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 490,000 head -- steady with a week ago and 5,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 10/26/2026: down $0.70, $69.36.

THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. With pork cutout values trending lower, it's unlikely that packers are going to jump aggressively in the cash market.