Cattle country was typically quiet on Monday after the distribution of the new show lists. This week’s offering appears to be generally larger except in Colorado where the numbers look to be the same as last week. Asking prices are not established at this point, but some preliminary talk has them around 126.00 plus on the live, and 205.00 plus dressed. Significant trade will probably be delayed again until late in the week. The slaughter for Monday was trimmed to 114,000 head, 9,000 below last week, and 7,000 smaller than last year.
Boxed beef cutout values were weak to lower on light to moderate demand and moderate offerings. Choice boxed beef was down 1.25 at 182.88, and select was .54 lower at 178.68.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 32 to 77 points lower on Monday. Pressure in the outside markets as well as lower wholesale beef prices were the main reasons behind the lower futures markets Poor processing margins have caused packers to trim their slaughter schedules and that has also created concern in the futures market. February was .77 lower and settled at 123.92, April finished the session .70 lower at 127.75.
Feeder cattle ended the session lower as they followed the direction of the live pit trade. Traders had looked for opportunities to step back into the market, as some had expected the bullish cattle inventory numbers would help to draw buyers back into the market. But the feeder cattle market remains focused on the inability to keep fed cattle futures afloat at this point and what additional pressure will come over the next several days. March settled .25 lower at 154.35, and April was down .22 at 156.60.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Oklahoma National Stockyards on Monday totaled 7300 head. Compared to last week, feeder steers were steady to 2.00 lower, feeder heifers were steady. Demand was moderate to good for feeder cattle. There was good demand for calves and they traded 3.00 to 6.00 higher. Feeder steers weighing 525 to 600 pounds brought 172.00 to 186.00. 550 to 600 pound heifers traded from 152.75 to 158.50.
Lean hogs settled 5 to 32 points in the red due to the bearish tone in outside markets as well as lower cash hog markets in the morning report. The wholesale market prices have fallen for the past week, with few signs evident of increased seasonal demand. Processing margins are the lowest in three years resulting in a reduction in chain speed. February settled .22 lower at 86.45, and April was down .22 at 87.15.
Pork trading was slow with light to moderate demand and offerings. The pork carcass cutout value was up .65 at 83.91.
Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.97 higher at 87.02 weighted averages on a carcass basis, the West was up 1.94 at 86.91, and the East was down 1.47 at 80.17. Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed steady to 1.00 lower from 80.00 to 81.00. Terminal hogs were steady to 2.00 lower from 55.00 to 61.00.
Monday’s hog kill was estimated at 406,000 head, 21,000 less than last week, but 25,000 more than last year. Kill schedules have been reduced due to pork margins and weak demand. Producers appear to be current in their marketing and may wait a few days in hopes that bids will improve. The cash market looks flat to lower for Tuesday.
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