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DTN Midday Livestock Comments 03/23 11:42
Traders Drive Cattle Contracts Higher Into Monday's Noon Hour
The livestock complex is off to a strong start as the contracts edge higher
into Monday's noon hour.
ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst
GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mostly higher into Monday's noon hour as
traders again seem committed to advancing the contracts higher. New showlists
appear to be somewhat lower in Nebraska/Colorado and much lower in Kansas and
Texas. May corn is down 4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $1.80.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 601.09 points and NASDAQ is up 248.66
points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is trading mostly higher into Monday's noon hour,
although a couple of the late 2026 contracts are trading slightly lower. More
than anything, it's likely the note of steady on-feed numbers has traders
concerned there may be more supply available in the later part of 2026 than
originally anticipated, which could be partly driving down those contracts
Monday morning. April live cattle are up $0.17 at $234.22, June live cattle are
up $0.25 at $233.67 and August live cattle are up $0.02 at $230.85. It's likely
the market will continue to chop sideways between its 100-day and 40-day moving
averages until something drives the market one way or another. New showlists
appear to be somewhat lower in Nebraska/Colorado and much lower in Kansas and
Texas.
Last week, Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $372, which is steady
with the previous week's weighted average, and Southern live cattle traded at
mostly $235, which is also steady with the previous week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.61 ($399.50) and select up $0.62
($393.56) with a movement of 35 loads (25.11 loads of choice, 4.00 loads of
select, 3.00 loads of trim and 2.84 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Friday's Cattle on Feed report hasn't added much of a hiccup to Monday's
market as the feeder cattle contracts are also trading higher. March feeders
are up $1.17 at $358.92, April feeders are up $0.20 at $351.37 and May feeders
are up $0.87 at $347.25. Demand was stronger last week in sale barns across the
countryside as green grass is just around the corner for most producers, and
that was evident in sales as grass calves were bringing more money. It's likely
that trend will continue this week, especially if the board remains encouraging.
LEAN HOGS:
After plummeting lower late last week, the lean hog complex is now trading
mixed into Monday's noon hour with its nearby contracts mostly higher while the
deferred contracts continue to scale lower. April lean hogs are down $0.37 at
$90.90, June lean hogs are up $0.17 at $104.65 and July lean hogs are up $0.07
at $106.77. In order for the nearby contracts to continue to trade higher this
week, it will be imperative that pork demand improves. The projected CME Lean
Hog Index for 3/20/2026 is down $0.18 at $91.77 and the actual index for
3/19/2026 is down $0.09 at $91.95. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily
Direct Morning Hog report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that
only 738 head have traded and the market's five-day rolling average now sits at
$91.94. Pork cutouts total 180.57 loads with 154.80 loads of pork cuts and
25.77 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.80, $100.00.
ShayLe Stewart can be reached at shayle.stewart@dtn.com
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