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Hog futures mixed heading into the end of the week

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were mostly lower and feeders closed higher, watching corn and the week’s direct cash business.  February live cattle closed $.42 higher at $117 and April live cattle closed $.55 lower at $121.67.  March feeder cattle closed $.05 higher at $140.42 and April feeder cattle closed $.32 higher at $145.07. 

Another round of light direct cash cattle trade took place on Thursday.  Dressed deals in the North were at mostly $182, a little more than $1 higher than last week’s weighted average basis in Nebraska.  There were a handful of deals in the South at $114, fully steady with the week’s previous business.  Asking prices were at $115 to $116 live in the South and $185 plus in the North.  Look for more business to develop on Friday. 

At the Hub City Livestock Auction in South Dakota, compared to last week, the best test was on steers 550 to 600 pounds, they were steady.  Steers 651 to 700 pounds were $2 to $4 higher and 701-to-900-pound steers were mostly steady with instances of $2 lower on 700-to-800-pound steers.  The best test on heifers were 600 to 650 pounds and they were $2 to $4 higher, heifers 650 to 750 pounds were mostly steady with instances of up to $3 lower on 700 to 750 pounds.  The USDA says demand was good to very good for the day’s very large offering of many packages and loads.  Most of the cattle were home raised and quality was attractive throughout the day.  Flesh varied from moderate to heavy and the market was active.  Feeder supply included 69 percent steers and 84 percent of the offering was over 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 751 to 795 pounds brought $137.50 to $148 and feeder steers 852 to 897 pounds brought $130.50 to $141.70.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 556 to 596 pounds brought $145.50 to $154 and feeder heifers 718 to 744 pounds brought $125.75 to $139.50. 

Boxed beef closed lower on light demand for light offerings.  Choice closed $.36 lower at $240.39 and Select closed $1.00 lower at $228.79.  The Choice/Select spread is $11.60.  Estimated cattle slaughter is 121,000 head – up 10,000 on the week and down 2,000 on the year. 

Lean hog futures closed mostly lower on spread adjustments, profit-taking, and the less than stellar export sales totals.  April lean hogs closed $.32 higher at $89.75 and May lean hogs closed $.40 lower at $91.15. 

Cash hogs closed sharply higher with a big negotiated run.  Packers have been aggressive in the procurement efforts and remain optimistic demand strength for US pork both domestically and on the global market will continue.  But, supply concerns do linger as the availability of market-ready hogs is more than ample and daily slaughter totals continue at very high levels.  Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct closed $2.24 higher with a base range of $70 to $82 for a weighted average of $77.94; the Iowa/Minnesota closed $1.82 higher with a weighted average of $79.24 and the Western Corn Belt closed $1.92 higher with a weighted average of $79.15.  The Eastern Corn Belt was not reported due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $48.  At Illinois, slaughter sow prices were firm with very good demand for heavy offerings at $56 to $68.  Barrows and gilts were firm with good demand for moderate to heavy offerings at $50 to $54.  Boars ranged from $25 to $30 and $12 to $15. 

Pork values closed sharply higher – up $2.99 at $95.13.  Hams, picnics, and bellies were all sharply higher.  Butts and loins were higher.  Ribs were weak.  Estimated hog slaughter is 497,000 head – up 18,000 on the week and down 1,000 on the year. 

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