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Cash cattle trade very slow to develop

The cash cattle trade was very slow to develop on Friday with both sides digging in their heels. Regional buyers bought a few pens in the North at $188.00, steady/ firm with last week’s weighted average. Most packers bid 116.00 live in Nebraska. USDA Mandatory reported cattle on a live basis in Kansas sold at 116.00, steady with a week ago. The weekly cattle kill was estimated at 653,000 head, 4,000 more than last week, but 17,000 less than last year.

Boxed beef cutout values were lower on light demand and moderate offerings. Choice boxed was down 1.46 at 194.66 and select was 2.24 lower at 178.09

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 05 to 177 points higher on Friday after showing weakness across most of the nearby contracts early in the session. The surge in the market at midday came even with the weaker boxed beef values, but expectations that demand would be good over the Fourth of July supported the market.  The sharp rally in the outside markets helped to draw traders into the cattle futures market at the the end of the month and end of the second quarter. June expired at noon at 116.55 up .05, the new front month August was up 1.12 at 120.45, and October ended at 124.40 up 1.10.

Feeder cattle settled 92 to 117 higher on the rally in the live pit although buyer support was limited due to the increased support in the grain markets.  August settled 1.00 higher at 145.45, and Sept3ember was up 1.02 at 154.40.

Feeder cattle receipts at Missouri auctions this week totaled 30,497 head. Compared to last week, calves sold 10.00 to 20.00 lower. Yearling steers sold 8.00 to 12.00 lower and yearling heifers were 3.00 to 10.00 lower. This week’s supply of feeders was moderate to heavy with light to moderate demand. Trucking and transportation of feeders has become problematic as buyers are dealing with many un-weaned and unworked calves which are highly susceptible to the added stress of high temperatures. Feeder steers medium and large 1 weighing 500 to 600 lbs. average 160.06 per hundredweight, 6 to 7 weights at 152.03. Feeder heifers weighing 500 to 600 lbs. average 150.82, 6 to 7 weights at 143.19.

Lean hogs settled mostly 87 to 145 points higher with only the July lower. Trade through the lean pit bounced higher and lower throughout the session with the early pressure focused on profit taking from the strong rally seen earlier in the week. The expectation is additional fundamental support will continue to be seen over the next few weeks and that helped to keep traders moderately interested in the lean hog futures market. July was down .10 at 96.00, and August was up .87 at 94.77.

Pork trading was slow, with very light to light demand and mostly moderate to heavy offerings. Pork carcass cutout value was down .72 at 95.43.

The hog market was not well established on very light demand and offerings on Friday afternoon. Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed .22 lower at 99.15 on a carcass basis, the West was up .08 at 98.97, and the East was down 2.17 at 95.07. Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed steady to 1.00 lower from 91.00 to 95.00. Terminal hogs were steady from 62.50 to 65.00.

The weekly hog slaughter at 1,999,000 head was 55,000 more than last week, and 39,000 more than last year. The quarterly hogs and pigs report released after the close of futures on Friday came in pretty much as expected. The total number of hogs and pigs was up one-percent for the quarter and the year. The breeding herd and market hog inventory were also up one-percent.

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