DTN Midday Livestock Comments          10/27 11:48

   Cattle Hit Expanded Limits

   It's been an utterly devastating morning for the cattle complex as both the 
live cattle and feeder cattle contracts have already reached their expanded 
limits.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   It's been an utterly miserable Monday morning for the cattle complex as both 
the live cattle and feeder cattle markets have hit their expanded trading 
limits. They continue to be pressured by the market's anxiousness from last 
week's developments and fearing that more negative news could develop. New 
showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas and Texas, but lower in 
Nebraska/Colorado. December corn is up 8 cents per bushel and December soybean 
meal is up $4.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 240.96 points and 
NASDAQ is up 378.73 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   It's completely fair to say, "it's been a miserable day," before the clock 
hits noon CDT, when both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts are 
trading at their expanded limits. December live cattle are down $10.75 at 
$223.17, February live cattle are down $10.75 at $222.67 and April live cattle 
are down $10.75 at $222.00. Upon searching for a reason as to "why" the market 
was suffering so severely this morning, unfortunately there's no new tangible 
reason why the market is enduring such catastrophic losses. Instead, the market 
continues to be pressured by the chaos that's been endured over the last two 
weeks between President Trump stating that he'd like to see beef prices 
lowered, talked about increased imports from Argentina and the technical 
pandemonium that's ensued ever since.

   Last week, Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $370, which is $2.00 
lower than the previous week's weighted average. Southern live cattle traded at 
mostly $238, which is $2.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.64 ($377.40) and select up $5.29 
($363.26) with a movement of 59 loads (44.83 loads of choice, 4.46 loads of 
select, 5.42 loads of trim and 4.11 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   It's another gut-wrenching day for the feeder cattle complex as the market 
continues to sink unnervingly lower, already hitting its expanded limit for the 
day. November feeders are down $13.75 at $338.45, January feeders are down 
$13.75 at $334.42 and March feeders are down $13.75 at $331.30. Unfortunately, 
the spot November feeder cattle contract is nearly hitting its 100-day moving 
average, which could trigger even more technical pressure.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog complex is also trading slightly lower into Monday's noon hour, 
feeling unsupported by the market's fundamentals. December lean hogs are down 
$0.27 at $81.62, February lean hogs are down $0.70 at $83.60 and April lean 
hogs are down $0.72 at $88.22. Until consumer support improves, it's unlikely 
that the market will see much more upside potential from a technical sense.

   The projected lean hog index for 10/24/2025 is down $0.68 at $92.27, and the 
actual index for 10/23/2025 is down $0.68 at $92.95. Hog prices are unavailable 
on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we 
can see that only 165 head have traded, and the market's five-day rolling 
average now sits at $88.93. Pork cutouts totaled 193.76 loads with 163.12 loads 
of pork cuts and 30.65 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.34, $101.40.

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




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