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Pretty amazing start to the week for the entire meat complex. When news hit the press that the US wasn’t going to slap tariffs on Mexico, it sparked a huge rally across all three of the meat contracts. Hogs were up over $3 at times and finished with everything except the front month June at $2+ in the net changes. Feeders were up over $2 on everything and traded strongly over $3 higher at times. The live cattle trade finished with the August contract up the $3 limit and the rest of the months strongly in the triple digits higher as well. We can chalk the gains up to a Mexico trade-led rally based on news sources, but I don’t see things changing much with…

Date: June 10th, 2019 Lower livestock futures to end the week but feeders bounce higher off new contract lows midweek and fats off new recent lows. Cash feedlot trade in TX and KS was done mostly at $113 midweek which is another couple dollars lower than the week previous. There was some trade reported down at $110 to $111 also but hearing that was for delivery towards the end of the month. In the North, most trade done at $114 to $115 live and $184 to $185 dressed. Over the weekend, President Trump announced that the U.S. and Mexico had come to terms and no additional tariffs would be put in place this week. This should be supportive news for both cattle and hogs to…

Date: June 5th, 2019 Cattle futures quickly surged higher Tuesday as support developed in feeder cattle futures, then spilled over to live cattle. Triple-digit gains sparked added interest as traders quickly moved back into the complex following the aggressive liquidation over the past month. Hog futures struggled early to find support with the nearby June contract reaching down for a new recent low but all deferred contracts held $1+ gains. Light cash feedlot trade continued in TX and KS on Tuesday with prices steady to $3 lower than Monday's trade at $110 to $113 live and some $114 trade in the North, both mostly $2 lower than a week ago. The lower end of the range being reported for cattle delivered 3 to 4 weeks…

Monday was another crazy session for the cattle complex with a broad range of trade from high to low, especially in the feeders. The closes weren’t in any way a good depiction of the how the day progressed though, because feeders settled quietly mixed on both sides of unchanged and live cattle were mildly lower on everything except the front month. That’s where the confusion developed. June live cattle traded close to $2 lower at one point and settled down $1.70, leaving an $8.22 disparity between where cash traded last week in the Southern Plains and that close yesterday. Then to top it off, there was also a light amount of negotiated cash trading at $113 in both Texas and Kansas, along with an unconfirmed…

Date: June 3rd, 2019 After a limit lower day last Thursday for feeders, the pressure continued with $4 to $5 lower day on Friday. Live cattle and hog futures were also triple digits lower to end the week even though export sales were bullish with net pork sales a whopping 54,700 MT, 29,100 sold to China and net beef sales friendly at 21,600 MT. Cash feedlot trade was at $115 in the South and $116 in the North, which is generally steady with the week previous, while dressed trade developed late Thursday at $186 to $187, $1 to $3 lower than the week previous. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 05/31/2019 RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total This Week 91,200 22,400 18,100 131,700…

Date: May 22nd, 2019 Cash feedlot trade so far this week very light at $115 live and $185 dressed matching the bottom end of last week’s trade. Fed Cattle Exchange online auction later this morning with 309 head consigned compared to last week’s 376 head of which 280 head sold at $117 from OK and KS. Livestock futures were pressured most of the day yesterday with grains higher, specifically corn with its recent flip to the upside. In the past 7 trading sessions corn as recovered to within a half cent of this year’s high back on January 8th. There is a ton of congestion from current price levels to approximately a dime higher. For the time being it appears it will take an additional…

Date: May 15th, 2019 Cattle futures tried for a turnaround Tuesday but faded as the day progressed as hogs remain bipolar finishing triple digits higher after limit lower Monday. Some IA cash feedlot trade at $118 live & $186 to $190 dressed reported so far this week, which is $2 to $4 lower than last week, some for delivery 2 weeks out. So far in the South, bids at $116 passed. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will be held later this morning with 376 head consigned compared to last week’s 863 head of which 670 head sold from KS and OK at $120. Tulsa Livestock Auction – Tulsa, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 5/13/2019 Receipts: 1,549 Last Week: 2,289 Last year: 2,317 Compared…

Date: May 14th, 2019 Livestock futures started the week under pressure with the trade war heating up again between the U.S. and China. China did have beef on their list of increased tariffs to start June 1 but left pork off the list of course with the supply in China very tight due to the African swine fever outbreak. There is concern though that China may take another step and cancel U.S. export sales already on the books. Some cleanup cash feedlot trade at $118 live reported yesterday but limited volume and not enough to establish a trend. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 5/13/2019 Receipts: 5,200 Last Week: 4,896 Last year: 10,078 Compared to last week:…

Date: May 8th, 2019 Small rebound for cattle and grain futures yesterday as most are very oversold currently. Lean hog futures did finish lower but came back from triple digit lower prices following the lock limit down day on Monday. Long term support held for the front month June live cattle as cash feedlot trade got going in TX and KS at $120 live, $2 to $3 lower than last week’s trade. Some small volume trade in the North at $194 to $196 dressed and $122 live. Joplin Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle-Carthage, MO Livestock Weighted Average Report 5/6/19 Receipts: 3,208 Last Week: 5,042 Last Year: 6,423 Compared to last week, steers and heifers 3.00 to 7.00 lower. Demand and supply moderate to light. Oklahoma National…

Meat complex futures continued along the path of least resistance on Monday which meant really steep losses in the live and feeder cattle trade at times and limit lower trade in hogs for most of the session. That also means expanded limits today for the hogs. In the beef complex, the technical analysis continues to point towards an extremely bearish picture, albeit an extremely oversold picture as well. In most contract months, retracement levels of support have been exceeded for several sessions already and a lot of months are into new life of contract lows as well. 12 days ago, every feeder cattle month from the August beyond was sitting at life of contract highs and are now solidly into new contract lows. That means…