Cattle, hog futures close higher

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle futures were higher, with boxed beef up at midday, waiting for the week’s direct business. There was also ongoing position squaring ahead of this Friday’s USDA Cattle on Feed report and next Friday’s USDA Cattle Inventory update. February live was $.72 higher at $233.10 and April was up $.37 at $234.95. March feeders were up $1.70 at $359.37 and April was $1.67 higher at $358.12.

Direct cash cattle trade was relatively quiet with still just a few bids on the table in parts of Kansas, but they continue to be passed, asking prices have yet to be established. Significant trade volume will likely be delayed until Thursday and/or Friday.

At the West Point Livestock Feeder Cattle Auction in Nebraska, compared to last week, there was a smaller run of cattle with minimal yearlings. Steers under 650 pounds trended higher with steers over $650 trended lower. Heifers were steady to higher. The USDA says demand was good. Feeder supply included 60 percent steers and 79 percent of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and large 1 feeder steers 759 to 786 pounds brought $359 to $372 with an average price of $368.08. Medium and large 1 feeder heifers 610 to 638 pounds brought $389 to $406 with an average price of $299.26.

Boxed beef closed higher with Choice $1.35 higher at $366.11 and Select $2.61 sharply higher at $362.45. The Choice/Select spread is $3.66.

Estimated cattle slaughter was 114,000 head, down 3,000 on the week and 11,000 on the year.

Lean hog futures ended the session steady to firm on spread trade and the midday gain in the pork carcass cutout value. The USDA’s monthly Livestock Slaughter report is out Thursday, while Cold Storage and delayed weekly export sales numbers are out Friday. February was unchanged at $87.85 and April was up $.42 at $95.60.

Cash hogs closed higher with a light to moderate negotiated run.