DTN Midday Livestock Comments          06/13 11:39

   Traders Let Cattle Contracts Tumble $2.00 to $3.00 Lower

   There have been a few more cattle trades in the North, but mostly it looks 
like the bulk of this week's trade is done.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Traders appear to be distancing themselves from the cattle complex this 
week, as they're letting both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts trade 
$2.00 to $3.00 lower into Friday's noon hour. Some light cash cattle trade has 
developed, but mostly it looks like the bulk of this week's trade is done.

   August live cattle are down $2.95 at $214., August feeder cattle are down 
$2.25 at $309., July lean hogs are up $0.30 at $109.2, July corn is up 4 cents 
per bushel and July soybean meal is down $2.10. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average is down 403.41 points and the NASDAQ is down 73.87 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   Traders can't seem to hold it together anymore as the futures complex has 
broken lower ahead of midday Friday. Most of the nearby live cattle contracts 
are trading $2.00 to $3.00 lower as traders seem to be growing more and more 
concerned that the futures complex is overbought and that it's time for a 
correction. From a sheerly fundamental standpoint, this move is frustrating as 
this past week boxed beef prices have traded robustly, and the fed cash cattle 
market has again traded steady to $5.00 higher which is no small feat given 
that these are historical all-time high price points which we are talking 
about. Nevertheless, we have to remember that traders won't have to be 
concerned about the market's fundamentals and that logic isn't always the 
sounding board for all decisions made. August live cattle are down $3.40 at 
$213.62, October live cattle are down $3.37 at $210.97 and December live cattle 
are down $2.75 at $211.65. There's been another thin movement of cattle traded 
in the North at $242 which is steady with last week's weighted average. And 
while some more clean-up trade could develop, it looks like the bulk of this 
week's trade is mostly done with. So far this week Southern live cattle have 
traded at mostly $235, which is $4.00 to $5.00 higher than last week's weighted 
average. Northern dressed cattle have traded at mostly $380, which is steady 
with last week's weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $0.35 ($377.07) and select up $0.78 
($363.85) with a movement of 61 loads (43.24 loads of choice, 4.40 loads of 
select, 6.82 loads of trim and 6.92 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex isn't fairing any better than the live cattle 
market is as it's been closely watching the live cattle sector as it's been 
following in its shadow here lately. Yes, demand in the countryside is still 
incredibly strong, but the board doesn't seem to be concerned with fundamental 
matters today. August feeders are down $2.72 at $308.52, September feeders are 
down $2.75 at $307.77 and October feeders are down $2.90 at $305.55.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog complex is continuing to rally in at least its nearby contracts 
while some of the deferred months are trading slightly lower. July lean hogs 
are up $0.27 at $109.17, August lean hogs are down $0.30 at $109.87 and October 
lean hogs are up $0.15 at $94.07. Helping keep traders encouraged more than 
anything is the continued support of pork demand as again this morning the 
carcass price is just shy of being $3.00 higher.

   The projected lean hog index for 6/12/2025 is up $1.05 at $102.81, and the 
actual index for 6/11/2025 is up $0.84 at $101.75. Hog prices are lower on the 
Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.14 with a weighted average price of 
$104.05, ranging from $100.00 to $110.00 on 1,472 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $105.97. Pork cutouts total 246.74 loads, with 237.28 loads of pork 
cuts and 9.46 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.93, $117.43.

   ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com




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