Cattle futures drop amid lingering import concerns

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were sharply lower on technical liquidation and the talk that feeder cattle imports from Mexico could resume. December live cattle closed $4.42 lower at $227.77 and February live cattle closed $5.02 lower at $225.37. November feeder cattle closed $7.60 lower at $334.97 and January feeder cattle closed $7.30 lower at $329.22.

Direct cash cattle trade activity was quiet again Tuesday. Bids and asking didn’t surface. If trade follows the trend of recent weeks, look for the bulk of business to take place sometime Thursday or Friday.

At the Callaway Livestock Center in Missouri, steer calves weighing less than 700 pounds and heifer calves weighing less than 600 pounds were mostly $20 to $40 higher, gaining back much of what it lost a week prior. Feeder steers were $15 to $30 higher and heifers weighing more than 600 pounds were very lightly tested, but sold with a higher undertone. The USDA says demand was good to very good on the pot loads of yearlings. Receipts were up on the week and the year. Feeder supply included 66 percent steers with 60 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 600 to 637 pounds brought $393 to $409 and feeder steers 865 to 895 pounds brought $337.75 to $350. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 554 to 587 pounds brought $367 to $399 and feeder heifers 600 to 614 pounds brought $343 to $351.

Boxed beef was mixed with light and moderate demand for solid offerings. Choice was $1.67 lower at $377.58 and Select was $1.32 higher at $361.25. The Choice/Select spread is $16.33. Estimated cattle slaughter was 118,000 head, down 1,000 on the week and down more than 7,000 on the year.

Lean hog futures closed lower, contracts were pressured by the midday drop in pork and spillover from cattle. December lean hogs closed $.67 lower at $79.92 and February lean hogs closed $1.27 lower at $80.92.