Cattle futures mostly higher to start the week

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were mostly higher ahead of the week’s direct business. April live cattle closed $.95 higher at $238.20 and June live cattle closed $.47 higher at $234.32. March feeder cattle closed $.02 higher at $367.45 and May feeder cattle closed $.40 higher at $363.20.

Direct cash cattle trade activity was quiet. Showlists for the week are mixed. Higher in Texas and Kansas, and mostly steady in Nebraska and Colorado. Bids and asking prices didn’t surface Monday. Look for the bulk of the week’s trade to take place sometime Thursday or Friday.

At midsession, at the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Missouri, feeder steers weighing less than 750 pounds were $5 to $20 higher. Heavier weights are running $5 to $10 higher. Feeder heifers are selling $5 to $20 higher. Receipts are up on the week and the year. Feeder supply included 59 percent steers with 60 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 650 to 698 pounds brought $403 to $440 and feeder steers 850 to 867 pounds brought $343 to $366. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 500 to 546 pounds brought $420 to $480 and feeder heifers 751 to 789 pounds brought $327 to $347.50.

Boxed beef closed mixed with light and moderate demand for fairly light offerings. Choice was $1.57 lower at $367.76 and Select was $.82 higher at $365.35. The Choice/Select spread is $2.41. Estimated cattle slaughter was 107,000 head, down 1,000 on the week and up 10,000 on the year.

Lean hog futures closed mixed on spread trade amid ongoing demand uncertainties. April lean hogs closed $1.22 lower at $96.72 and May lean hogs closed $.90 lower at $100.37.

Cash hog prices were not reported Monday, there were zero reported negotiated sales. The cash hog market continues to struggle with consistency. Demand is a big part of the picture right now, both on the global market and domestically. But so is supply. The industry is monitoring the available supplies of market-ready hogs, which are ample, and hog weights, which are running well above year-ago levels. Processors have leverage and are moving needed numbers at their pace and price levels. The five-day rolling average for barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct is $86.45. For the Iowa/Minnesota it is $86.80 and for the Western Corn Belt it is $86.74.