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DTN Midday Livestock Comments 01/27 11:13
Cattle Trend Higher Into Tuesday's Noon Hour
Both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts were trading lower this
morning, but as the noon hour nears, traders are pushing both markets higher.
ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst
GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cattle contracts have traded mixed thus far throughout the day, but
thankfully as Tuesday's noon hour approaches, the contracts are seeming to find
more trader support. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. March corn is
down 1 cent per bushel and March soybean meal is down $0.20. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average is down 341.64 points and NASDAQ is up 229.40 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Up until the last hour, the live cattle market was trading mostly lower as
traders seemed overwhelmed by the market's technical resistance. Lo and behold,
as the noon hour nears, another gust of support has seemed to overcome the live
cattle complex. February live cattle are up $0.15 at $236.15, April live cattle
are down $0.22 at $237.77 and June live cattle are down $0.02 at $233.60. The
market doesn't however seem confident in either direction as it's longing to
see continued fundamental support to justify a higher trend. And it's not
likely that enough support will develop until we see what happens in this
week's fed cash cattle trade, which could mean a teeter-totter like behavior
today in the futures complex. Still no trade has developed in the fed cash
cattle complex and it's mostly likely that trade will be delayed until Thursday
at the earliest and likely wait until Friday. It is assumed that prices will
trend higher again this week as fed cash cattle supplies are tight, and packers
can't afford to be short bought.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $0.37 ($369.27) and select down $2.55
($364.57) with a movement of 59 loads (42.36 loads of choice, 4.51 loads of
select, zero loads of trim and 12.24 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex isn't trading in the exact same manner as the live
cattle complex is, as its market is taking more of a mixed approach into
Tuesday's noon hour. More than anything, traders seem to want to keep the
feeder cattle contracts aligned with the overall direction of the live cattle
market. At the same time, traders know supplies are likely to remain thin in
the near term and see that as a justification to keep the furthest deferred
contracts trading higher. March feeders are down $0.07 at $362.52, April
feeders are down $0.10 at $361.10 and May feeders are down $0.02 at $358.45.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is trading mostly higher into Tuesday's noon hour,
although a couple of the nearby contacts are trading slightly lower. February
lean hogs are up $0.17 at $88.47, April lean hogs down $0.15 at $96.55 and June
lean hogs are up $0.10 at $109.22. More than anything, the market's uptick in
consumer demand seems to be encouraging traders to continue to push the complex
higher.
Hog prices are again not available on the Daily Direct Morning Hog report
because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 645 head have traded,
and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $80.86. Pork cutouts
total 133.63 loads with 120.79 loads of pork cuts and 12.84 loads of trim. Pork
cutout values: up $0.62, $97.88. The projected lean hog index for 1/26/2026 is
up $0.42 at $84.43, and the actual index for 1/23/2026 is up $0.39 at $84.01.
ShayLe Stewart can be reached at shayle.stewart@dtn.com
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