DTN Midday Livestock Comments          11/25 11:42

   Dressed Cattle Trading $15.00 Lower 

   The cash cattle market has seen some light movement in Nebraska, where 
dressed sales are being marked at $330, $15.00 lower than last week's weighted 
average. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading mixed, but there remains a bearish 
undertone about the cattle contracts. Some light dressed cattle trade has 
developed in the North, where cattle are trading at mostly $330, $15.00 lower 
than last week's weighted average. December corn is down 1/4 cent per bushel 
and January soybean meal is up $1.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 
537.20 points and the NASDAQ is up 65.26 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   It's technically a mixed but mostly lower morning for the live cattle 
complex. Although some of the deferred contracts are trading higher, spot and 
nearby contracts are trading lower. There's even been some trade already in the 
fed cash cattle market. December live cattle are down $0.25 at $206.95, 
February live cattle are down $0.45 at $207.02 and April live cattle are up 
$0.27 at $208.22. There's been a light movement of dressed trade this morning 
in Nebraska, where cattle are trading anywhere from $325 to $330, but mostly at 
$330, which is a $15.00 decline from last week's weighted average. Still no 
trade has developed yet in the South, and asking prices are still not known in 
that region. Delivery dates for the cattle that have traded have been set for 
mostly the week of Dec. 1 and Dec. 8.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.56 ($372.05) and select up $3.46 
($358.97) with a movement of 74 loads (55.78 loads of choice, 8.21 loads of 
select, 4.08 loads of trim and 5.76 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is trading higher following Monday's sharp 
decline. January feeders are up $0.75 at $305.97, March feeders are up $2.02 at 
$299.82 and April feeders are up $2.25 at $298.35. Traders seem to be 
recovering some position that was lost on Monday, but it's more a technical 
reaction than a decision being made because more confidence has truly been 
established in the marketplace.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog contracts continue to trade slightly higher as the market 
crosses its fingers that the uncertainty in the cattle sector could be gained 
opportunity for the hog complex. December lean hogs are up $0.37 at $78.57, 
February lean hogs are steady at $79.17 and April lean hogs are up $0.52 at 
$83.05. The market still hasn't gained a strong fundamental foothold, as pork 
cutout values are lower.

   The projected lean hog index for 11/24/2025 is down $0.80 at $82.81, and the 
actual index for 11/21/2025 is down $1.20 at $83.61. Hog prices are again 
unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. 
However, we can see that only 365 head have traded this morning and that the 
market's five-day rolling average now sits at $70.92. Pork cutouts total 206.21 
loads with 182.58 loads of pork cuts and 23.63 loads of trim. Pork cutout 
values: down $0.56, 93.22.

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




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