At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were lower waiting for direct cash business to develop. April lives closed $.42 lower at $164.67 and June lives closed $.20 lower at $160.22. March feeders closed $.55 lower at $186.65 and April feeder cattle closed $.70 lower at $190.90.
It was another quiet day for direct cash cattle trade business. Bids never surfaced and early asking prices were floated at $163 live in the South, while not established in the North. If this week follows the recent trend, significant trade volume could hold out until sometime Thursday or Friday.
At the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Missouri, feeder steers were $2 to $6 higher. Feeder heifers were steady to $3 higher. The USDA says supply was heavy with good demand. Receipts were up on the week and the year. Feeder supply included 62% steers and 63% of the offering was over 600 pounds. Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 601 to 646 pounds brought $199 to $219 and feeder steers 753 to 786 pounds brought $187 to $192. Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 500 to 547 pounds brought $185 to $204 and feeder heifers 800 to 845 pounds brought $167 to $172.25.
Boxed beef closed sharply higher solid demand for moderate offerings. Choice closed $2.11 higher at $272.06 and Select closed $2.57 higher at $258.78. The Choice/Select spread is $13.28. Estimated cattle slaughter was 125,000 head – down 1,000 on the week and even on the year.
Lean hog futures ended the day higher on cash and wholesale support. There are reports that African swine fever was detected in Hong Kong and that could also be impacting the markets. April lean hogs closed $.90 higher at $87.25 and May lean hogs closed $.55 higher at $96.05.
Cash hogs closed higher with a solid negotiated run.
