DTN Midday Livestock Comments          06/02 11:44

   Traders Push the Livestock Contracts Higher

   With more than enough trader interest and support, the entire livestock 
complex is trading higher into Monday's noon hour.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is being met with ample support as all three markets 
are trading higher into Monday's noon hour. New showlists appear to be mixed, 
higher in Kansas, Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Texas. July corn is down 2 
3/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $1.50. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average is down 198.33 points and the NASDAQ is up 42.22 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   Following the exciting nature of last week's trade, the live cattle complex 
is continuing to trade higher and is mainly being fueled by the strong 
fundamental footing the market possesses. June live cattle are up $0.90 at 
$216.37, August live cattle are up $1.42 at $210.77 and October live cattle are 
up $1.35 at $208.75. Although the contracts are trading higher, traders are 
still keeping the market within its comfortable sideways trading range, as it's 
likely that they'll want to see what surfaces this week regarding fundamental 
support, specifically in the form of beef demand, fed cash cattle prices, and 
to a lesser degree, throughput levels. No bids or asking prices have been noted 
yet for the fed cash cattle market. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in 
Kansas, Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Texas.

   Last week Southern live cattle traded at mostly $221 to $223 which is $2.00 
to $3.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Northern dressed 
cattle traded at mostly $370 which is $8.00 higher than the previous week's 
weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.20 ($366.14) and select up $0.80 
($357.45) with a movement of 68 loads (39.32 loads of choice, 5.91 loads of 
select, 7.56 loads of trim and 14.80 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is now pushing on the upper end of its current 
sideways trading range as the market is elated to see extra support from 
traders and from the market's strong fundamental support in terms of higher fed 
cash cattle prices and strong beef demand. August feeders are up $2.97 at 
$301.80, September feeders are up $3.00 at $300.70 and October feeders are up 
$2.97 at $298.67. The spot August feeder cattle contract is currently trading 
around $301 and is only a couple of dollars away from the market's recent top 
at $305.

LEAN HOGS:

   It's rather impressive to see the lean hog complex trading higher again 
today as last Friday the market broke substantially higher, but yet again this 
week traders are advancing the contracts higher once again. July lean hogs are 
up $0.05 at $104.97, August lean hogs are up $0.80 at $105.80 and October lean 
hogs are up $0.47 at $89.40. Pork demand was a strong influence on last week's 
higher trend, which will be important for the market to receive again this week 
if traders are to keep up with their higher climb.

   The projected lean hog index for 5/30/2025 is up $1.06 at $95.90, and the 
actual index for 5/29/2025 is up $0.71 at $94.84. Hog prices are unavailable on 
the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because as of currently, there haven't been 
any hogs traded. Pork cutouts total 174.03 loads, with 149.95 loads of pork 
cuts and 24.08 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.01, $107.21.

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




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