DTN Midday Livestock Comments          07/15 11:41

   Hogs Move Higher Wednesday, While Cattle Dip Lower 

   Bids are on the table in Nebraska, but no more cash cattle have traded 
following Tuesday's light business. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is mixed heading into Wednesday's noon hour as the 
cattle contracts are keeping with their normal downward trend, but the lean hog 
contracts are rallying above their resistance threshold right now. Bids are on 
the table in Nebraska, but no more cash cattle have traded. December corn is up 
8 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $2.20. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average is down 56.21 points and NASDAQ is down 25.70 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   Without any support from market fundamentals the live cattle contracts 
continue to scale lower. The spot August contract is hitting a support plane at 
the $230.00 mark, which hopefully will keep the market from trading much lower. 
But if fundamentals don't improve, that's a big wish. August live cattle are 
down $1.35 at $230.07, October live cattle are down $1.90 at $225.75 and 
December live cattle are down $2.07 at $225.22. Some bids are currently on the 
table in Nebraska at $238 to $240 live and $375 dressed; but no trade has 
developed following Tuesday's thin movement. On Tuesday some cattle traded in 
Nebraska at $380, which is $12.00 lower than last week's weighted average, but 
some cattle were also sold in Iowa at $385, which is $6.00 lower than the 
previous week's weighted average. At this point it's anyone's guess where the 
cash market trend will land this week.

   Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.49 ($373.46) and select down 
$2.33 ($362.08) with a movement of 66 loads (50.06 loads of choice, 7.89 loads 
of select, 3.30 load of trim and 5.14 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is trailing lower as traders simply don't have 
enough support readily available to them to keep the prices from moving any 
other direction. August feeders are up $0.30 at $349.10, September feeders are 
down $0.95 at $343.90 and October feeders are down $1.75 at $338.77. Demand has 
been mixed again this week in sale barns, which isn't lending the market as 
much support as traders would hope to see either.

LEAN HOGS:

   The cattle contracts may be continuing to suffer, but it's a break-out day 
for the lean hog contracts as the spot August contract is attempting (and at 
this point successfully managing) to trade above the market's resistance at 
$100.00. August lean hogs are up $1.72 at $100.17, October lean hogs are up 
$1.85 at $86.22 and December lean hogs are up $1.95 at $76.85. It's been 
helpful, again this week, that packers have been buying large quantities of 
hogs in the cash market and pork cutout values have been mostly supported.

   The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 7/14/2026 is up $0.73 at $94.60 and the 
actual index for 7/13/2026 is up $0.76 at $93.87. Hog prices are higher on the 
Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $3.83 with a weighted average price of 
$100.70, ranging from $95.50 to $101.00 on 14,485 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $98.78. Pork cutouts total 157.68 loads with 136.24 loads of pork 
cuts and 21.44 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.27, $101.48.

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

    




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