DTN Midday Livestock Comments          07/09 11:41

   Light Cash Cattle Trade at $248 is Noted in Texas Thursday

   Some light cash cattle trade has developed in Texas at $248, but not enough 
cattle have sold to say an accurate trend has been established. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Some light cash cattle trade has developed in the South on Thursday, but not 
enough cattle have traded to say any sort of a trend has been established for 
the week. Packer interest will likely continue to improve throughout the day. 
December corn is down 2 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up 
$3.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 198.85 points and NASDAQ is up 
231.69 points.

   Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 14,000 mt for 2026 
were primarily for Japan (4,200 mt), South Korea (3,200 mt) and Taiwan (1,400 
mt). Pork net sales of 17,700 mt for 2026 were down 53% from the previous week 
and 32% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico 
(7,500 mt), Japan (4,600 mt) and Canada (1,300 mt).

LIVE CATTLE:

   Unfortunately, the same song and dance is seen today in the live cattle 
complex as the contracts continue to scale lower. August live cattle are down 
$1.72 at $235.92, October live cattle are down $1.27 at $232.27 and December 
live cattle are down $1.22 at $232.42. Some light cash cattle trade has begun 
to develop as a handful of cattle have traded at $248 in Texas; but not enough 
have sold to say any sort of trend has been solidified just yet. Bids of $248 
are also noted in Kansas and bids of $393 have surfaced in Nebraska.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $1.38 ($379.82) and select up $1.10 
($364.19) with a movement of 31 loads (24.84 loads of choice, 3.26 loads of 
select, zero loads of trim and 3.02 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   Sadly, the higher momentum the feeder cattle contracts had through 
Wednesday's close ran dry as Thursday the market is back to following the live 
cattle contracts lower. August feeders are down $2.75 at $359.37, September 
feeders are down $2.95 at $355.70 and October feeders are down $2.80 at 
$351.77. Currently the spot August contract is trading just below its 100-day 
moving average as weakness continues to spread.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog contracts continue to trade mixed with the deferred contracts 
more confident in the market's outlook than the nearby contracts. July lean 
hogs are down $0.25 at $94.25, August lean hogs are down $1.25 at $98.40 and 
October lean hogs are up $0.40 at $85.92. Luckily with midday pork cutout 
values up slightly, the market should be able to keep its stronger position in 
the deferred contracts. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 7/8/2026 is up 
$0.37 at $92.35 and the actual index for 7/7/2026 is up $0.32 at $91.98. Hog 
prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.06 with a 
weighted average price of $96.95, ranging from $92.00 to $99.00 on 8,935 head 
and a five-day rolling average of $96.94. Pork cutouts total 106.48 loads with 
91.93 loads of pork cuts and 14.55 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.74, 
$98.90.

    

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




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