DTN Midday Livestock Comments          04/24 11:49

   Cattle Inch Higher While Hogs Have Stalled

   No new cash cattle trade has developed, and it's looking like the bulk of 
this week's business is done with. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is seeing mixed trade at midday Friday, as the cattle 
contracts are trading higher thanks to some additional technical support. 
However, the lean hog complex is stalling and trading mostly lower. No new cash 
cattle trade has developed, and it's looking like the bulk of this week's trade 
is done with. July corn is down 1 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is 
up $0.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 124.47 points and the NASDAQ 
is up 372.28 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex is trading higher into Friday's noon hour as the 
market has thankfully stumbled into some technical support. June live cattle 
are up $1.35 at $244.85, August live cattle are up $1.27 at $241.40 and October 
live cattle are up $1.57 at $237.30. Following the market's regression earlier 
this week, on Thursday, the market seemed to have established a short-term 
bottom for the time being. And it's pretty impressive that the market has done 
this while receiving no support from the cash market, as prices have been lower 
this week. So far this week, Northern dressed deals have had a range of $385 to 
mostly $386, $2 lower than the prior week's weighted averages. Southern live 
trade has been marked at $246, $2 lower than the previous week's weighted 
averages. At this point, some more clean-up trade could develop in the cash 
market, but the bulk of the week's trade is likely done with.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $3.66 ($387.16) and select up $2.38 
($384.96) with a movement of 44 loads (27.98 loads of choice, 2.72 loads of 
select, 5.56 loads of trim and 8.09 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   And in keeping with alignment to the live cattle market, the feeder cattle 
contacts are also trading higher. May feeders are up $2.22 at $361.10, August 
feeders are up $2.45 at $361.80 and September feeders are up $2.65 at $359.72. 
The market's change in direction has thankfully kept the spot May contract 
above its 40-day moving average, which remains a critical threshold to monitor.

LEAN HOGS :

   The lean hog complex is trading lower into Friday's noon hour as the market 
seems to be stalling out. Although pork demand may seem stronger today as the 
carcass price is up $2.63, demand has been choppy this week, and traders need 
more fundamental support if they're going to successfully trade the contracts 
any higher. June lean hogs are down $0.67 at $102.77, July lean hogs are down 
$0.77 at $105.65 and August lean hogs are down $0.70 at $106.17.  

   The projected lean hog index for 4/23/2026 is up $0.01 at $91.44 and the 
actual index for 4/22/2026 is up $0.38 at $91.43. Hog prices are unavailable at 
this time because of packer submission issues. Pork cutouts totaled 226.21 
loads with 204.55 loads of pork cuts and 21.65 loads of trim. Pork cutout 
values: up $2.63, $100.45.

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




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