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DTN Midday Livestock Comments 02/19 11:27
Mixed Tones Drift Throughout Cattle Complex
Still no cash cattle trade has developed, and there's a chance that trade
could be delayed until after Friday's Cattle on Feed report.
ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst
GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mixed into midday Thursday, as the hog
complex continues to be met with technical support, but the cattle complex
would ideally like to see some support develop from the fed cash cattle market.
Still no cattle have traded. March corn is down 2 3/4 cents per bushel and
March soybean meal is up $0.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 262.93
points and the NASDAQ is down 64.03 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is trading mixed into midday Thursday, as the market
is currently seeing its nearby contracts trading higher while the deferred
months scale lower. It would appear as though the nearby contracts are trading
higher, although no trade has developed yet in the fed cash cattle market, as
traders know that supplies of market-ready cattle are going to be thin through
the first quarter and potentially partway through the second quarter, which may
be part of the reason why the February through June contracts are higher.
February live cattle are up $0.47 at $247.07, April live cattle are up $0.52 at
$243.05 and June live cattle are up $0.17 at $238.60. Absolutely nothing has
developed yet in the fed cash cattle market, and there's a chance that trade
could be delayed until after Friday's Cattle on Feed report.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.30 ($365.10) and select up $0.05
($360.68) with a movement of 54 loads (36.97 loads of choice, 9.47 loads of
select, zero loads of trim and 7.16 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle contracts aren't as bullish this morning as traders yearn
to see continued fundamental support before they'll likely push the contracts
much higher. March feeders are down $0.22 at $370.35, April feeders are down
$0.10 at $367.90 and May feeders are down $0.07 at $364.15. And another part of
the market's cautiousness could be stemming from the fact that traders are
holding a slightly more cautious position ahead of the Cattle on Feed report.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is trading mostly higher into Thursday's noon hour as
once again, trades aren't feeling pressured by any resistance thresholds
following the past week's sharp downturn. April lean hogs are up $0.70 at
$93.25, June lean hogs are up $0.45 at $107.10 and July lean hogs are up $0.37
at $108.87. Pork cutout values are up slightly, but not enough to make any
impactful difference for traders.
The projected lean hog index for 2/18/2026 is up $0.40 at $87.59 and the
actual index for 2/17/2026 is up $0.05 at $87.19. Hog prices are unavailable on
the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. The only thing
we can note from the report is that 3,665 head have traded this morning. Pork
cutouts total 178.19 loads with 163.95 loads of pork cuts and 14.24 loads of
trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.54, $96.10.
ShayLe Stewart can be reached at shayle.stewart@dtn.com
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