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DTN Midday Livestock Comments 02/25 11:51
Livestock Prices Trend Higher Into Wednesday's Noon Hour
The livestock complex is trading higher into Wednesday's noon hour as
traders feel comfortable advancing the contracts with ample technical support.
ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst
GENERAL COMMENTS:
Thus far Wednesday has been fruitful for the livestock complex as all three
of the markets are higher. Still no cash cattle trade has developed, and it's
likely trade will be delayed until Friday again this week. May corn is up 4 1/4
cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $6.90. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average is up 245.49 points and NASDAQ is up 261.58 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Although we still haven't heard whether or not there will be a union strike
at the JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado, traders seem comfortable advancing the
contracts Wednesday morning. April live cattle is up $2.02 at $241.12, June
live cattle is up $2.00 at $237.55 and August live cattle are up $1.92 at
$235.45. Still no cash cattle trade has developed and it's most likely trade
will be delayed until Friday. If a plant strike does happen in Colorado, then
there's a chance prices may trade steady as opposed to higher as not as many
cattle would be needed in the immediate future.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.92 ($379.35) and select up $0.75
($366.76) with a movement of 59 loads (34.16 loads of choice, 4.69 loads of
select, 8.08 loads of trim and 11.88 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Upon seeing the live cattle complex step out and comfortably trade higher,
the feeder cattle contracts are logging a sizeable rally ahead of Wednesday's
noon hour. March feeders are up $2.90 at $368.00, April feeders are up $3.45 at
$365.65 and May feeders are up $3.77 at $362.25. So long as nothing sends the
live cattle contracts tumbling lower, the feeder cattle contracts will likely
be able to sustain this rally through the afternoon.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is continuing to trade higher, keeping with what is now
a seven-day rally as traders continue to drive the market higher upon the
technical interest they've recently found. It's been interesting to watch the
market's fundamentals play out over the last seven trading days as pork cutout
values have been mostly mixed, but packer interest in the cash market has been
better. April lean hogs are up $0.55 at $96.35, June lean hogs are up $0.30 at
$110.32 and July lean hogs are up $0.40 at $112.17.
The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 2/24/2026 is up $0.36 at $88.71 and the
actual index for 2/23/2026 is up $0.18 at $88.35. Hog prices on the Daily
Direct Morning Hog Report average $91.85, ranging from $85.00 to $93.00 on
4,920 head and a five-day rolling average of $90.87. Pork cutouts total 189.01
loads with 160.07 loads of pork cuts and 28.94 loads of trim. Pork cutout
values: up $1.50, $98.45.
ShayLe Stewart can be reached at shayle.stewart@dtn.com
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