Market News

Cattle trade at a standstill

The cash cattle market remains untested on Tuesday afternoon. The wait continues for the first bid of the week. Asking prices are equally sketchy, probably somewhere around 126.00 to 128.00 in the South, and 200.00 plus in the North. Significant trade will most likely be delayed until late in the week. The kill was estimated at 113,000 head, 1,000 more than last week and last year.

Boxed beef cutout values closed sharply lower on light demand and heavy offerings. Choice beef was 3.83 lower at 205.94, and select was down 2.94 at 197.02.

Live cattle contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled 30 to 75 points higher as light to moderate gains redeveloped in the nearby live cattle futures. Support through the complex was uniform, although the ability to draw additional buyer interest to the market brought increased activity to the table through the end of the session. The lack of outside market support limited the overall direction of the market.

Feeder cattle settled 42 to 197 points higher after trading mixed in a wide range earlier in the session as traders appeared uninterested in stepping back into the market. However, losses in the corn market and prospects of lower feed costs helped to support the market and the front months ended with triple digit gains.

Feeder cattle receipts at the Oklahoma National stockyards on Monday totaled 6500 head. Compared to last week, feeder steers and heifers were mostly steady to weak, especially for feeder heifers. Steer and heifer calves were not well tested. The early demand was moderate to good for feeder cattle. The quality was average to attractive. Strong storms and heavy rains across the state hampered livestock movement over the weekend. Feeder steers medium and large 1 averaging 777 pounds traded at 141.65 per hundredweight. 766 pound heifers brought 132.50.

Lean hogs settled unchanged to 22 points higher as the market waffled back and forth through the morning session. Buyers were unable to firmly develop and step into the market following the aggressive market support earlier in the week.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.05 higher at 71.64 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West was up .97 at 71.52, and nationally the market was up .68 at 70.00.The Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed steady from 59.00 to 64.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis were steady to 1.00 higher from 41.00 to 55.00.

The pork carcass cutout value is down 1.16 at 82.57 FOB plant.

If the wholesale beef market keeps dropping like a sack of rocks, this reality is likely to limit the seasonal blue sky available to the wholesale pork trade.

The hog kill was estimated at 430,000 head, 4,000 less than last week, but 4,000 more than a year ago.