Market News

Triple digit losses in hog and cattle futures

The cash cattle trade was at a standstill on Thursday afternoon with packers and feedlot operators confused in the wake of another round of sharply lower futures. Bids and asking prices are both difficult to identify. Further cash business is still expected to develop either later today or tomorrow. Yesterday’s light to moderate business took place at 115.00 in the South and mostly 105.00 in the North. The kill totaled 113,000 head. 4,000 more than last week, and 5,000 greater than last year.

Boxed beef cutout values closed weak to lower on light to moderate demand and moderate to heavy offerings. Choice beef is down .61 at 200.70, and select 1.19 lower at 189.82.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 190 to 237 points lower. The bearishness appears to be tied to aggressive long liquidation, technical selling and ideas intense summer heat cannot be good for beef demand.

Feeder cattle ended the session 247 to 422 points lower, plunging along with their live counterparts. The lower deferred live targets begin, the more defensive commercial buyers in this market become, especially given the return of feedlot red ink in the spot market.

Feeder cattle receipts at the Springfield, Missouri Livestock Marketing Center totaled only 810 head on Wednesday. Compared to last week, steers and heifers trended fully steady. Holsteins were scarce. Demand was moderate to good on a light supply. High temperatures and humidity curtailed the receipts. Feeder steers medium and large 1 weighing 570 pounds brought 149.07 per hundredweight. 636 pound heifers traded at 137.04.

Sheep receipts at the Sioux Falls Regional Livestock at Worthing, South Dakota totaled 1340 head on Wednesday. Slaughter lambs were 2.00 to 6.00 lower than last week. Feeder lambs were of different weights than last week. The demand was good for slaughter lambs, feeder lambs and fleshier slaughter ewes. Slaughter lambs wooled and shorn choice and prime 2-3 weighing 136 pounds brought 166.04 per hundredweight. Feeder lambs medium and large 1-2 weighing 60 pounds traded at 229.00 per hundredweight.

Lean hogs suffered triple digit losses of 160 to 280 points on Thursday, setting another round of new contract lows. Widespread selling throughout the meat complex clearly helped to specifically stoke the bearish fire in the lean hog futures contracts.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.21 lower at 70.34 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West was down 1.50 at 70.09, and nationally the market was 1.34 lower at 69.86. Missouri direct base carcass meat price is steady at 66.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis are steady to 2.00 lower from 42.00 to 54.00. Two markets were closed due to the heat, Garnavillo, IA, and Zumbrota, MN.

The pork carcass cutout value is down .65 at 88.91 FOB plant. Only the loins were higher.

For the week ending July 16, Iowa barrows and gilts averaged 277.77 pounds, .6 pounds lighter than the week before and .4 pounds heavier than 2015.

Hog slaughter was estimated by USDA at 430,000 head, 1,000 less than last week, and down 12,000 from last year.

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