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Cattle futures waiting for direct business to develop

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle closed higher waiting for direct business to develop with some support from the stronger boxed beef prices.  Feeder cattle were lower, pressured by the higher move in corn.  February live cattle closed $.47 higher at $117 and April live cattle closed $.15 higher at $123.10.  January feeder cattle closed $.90 lower at $135.65 and March feeder cattle closed $2.37 lower at $141.47. 

Direct cash cattle trade was relatively quiet again on Tuesday.  There was some business reported in Texas at $112.55.  Asking prices were around $114 to $115 live in the South, while the North remained quiet.  Bids have been non-existent.  It’s likely the bulk of the week’s business will develop in the back half of the week. 

At the Callaway Livestock Center in Missouri, compared to last week, the best test was on four pot-loads of 775-to-905-pound steers which were $5 to $6 higher.  Steers, 700 to 750-pounds were $3 to $5 lower.  Overall, the quality was not as attractive as last week, and steers mostly sold with a weak to lower undertones.  Feeder heifers 500 to 600 pounds were weak to $5 lower and 6-weight heifers were mostly steady on comparable sales.  A pot-load of 715-pound heifers were $5 higher than last week.  The USDA says demand was moderate to good on a moderate offering.  Receipts were down on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 62 percent steers and 67 percent of the offering was over 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 750 to 777 pounds brought $130 to $132 and feeder steers 815 pounds brought $130.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 558 to 584 pounds brought $125 to $136.50 and feeder heifers 616 to 627 pounds brought $131 to $134. 

Boxed beef closed higher on good demand for moderate offerings.  Choice closed $2.33 higher at $229.06 and Select closed $1.12 higher at $217.44.  The Choice/Select spread is $11.73.  Estimated cattle slaughter is 117,000 head – even on the week and down 1,000 on the year.  Monday’s hog slaughter was revised to 115,000 head. 

Lean hog futures closed mostly higher on spread trade.  February lean hogs closed $.17 lower at $70.45 and April lean hogs closed $.32 higher at $76.95. 

Cash hogs closed higher with a moderate negotiated run.  Packers bid up to move their desired numbers on Tuesday.  Aside from a few off-days, daily slaughter totals have been near record levels and processors continue working to keep supply chains moving and preventing more hogs from backing up in the production system.  The availability of market-ready barrows and gilts is more than ample, which isn’t likely to change anytime soon.  Demand also faces uncertainty on both global and domestic markets as recovery from the coronavirus pandemic in some parts of the world has been slower than expected.  Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $.87 higher with a base range of $50 to $59 and a weighted average of $56.17; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $2.40 higher with a weighted average of $56.73; the Western Corn Belt closed $1.97 higher with a weighted average of $56.86.  The Eastern Corn Belt was not reported due to confidentiality.  

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $40. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were steady with good demand for heavy offering at $32 to $44.  Barrow and gilt prices were $1 to $4 higher with good demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $34 to $39.  Boars ranged from $15 to $20 and $5 to $10. 

Pork values closed lower – down $1.20 at $80.93.  Hams, picnics, and ribs were lower to sharply lower.  Loins were firm.  Butts and bellies closed sharply higher. Estimated hog slaughter is 455,000 head – down 43,000 on the week and down 38,000 on the year. 

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