DTN Midday Livestock Comments          04/29 11:45

   Cattle Trade Higher While Hogs Dip Lower

   Traders are taking a cautious approach to the lean hog complex this morning 
as they need to see more fundamentals before they'll feel confident enough to 
take on some technical market resistance.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   It's been a mixed morning for the livestock complex as the cattle contract 
continues to trade higher, but the lean hog complex needs more fundamental 
support before its contracts will be able to trade higher. No developments have 
surfaced in the cash market and won't likely be until Thursday or Friday. May 
corn is down 10 1/2 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $0.40. The Dow 
Jones Industrial Average is up 265.32 points and NASDAQ is up 27.09 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex continues to diligently trade higher and higher 
seeming to shock even the most bullish-minded folks. Etching out new contract 
highs is currently the market's norm, and with ample fundamental support, it's 
anyone's guess at this point where the top could be. June live cattle are up 
$1.12 at $210.75, August live cattle are up $1.10 at $206.42 and October live 
cattle are up $0.95 at $204.07. Nothing has surfaced yet for this week's cash 
cattle trade, and it's not likely that anything will before Thursday or Friday. 
Feedlot managers are again going to aim for higher prices, but with packers 
cutting throughput drastically, steady prices may be the best feedlot managers 
get this week unless packers are still short-bought.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice is up $3.42 ($346.19) and select is down 
$0.31 ($324.81) with a movement of 61 loads (27.95 loads of choice, 11.18 loads 
of select, 13.69 loads of trim and 8.11 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is hungry for more and it's not being bashful 
about how it is aggressively trading higher. May feeders are up $3.00 at 
$294.80, August feeders are up $2.65 at $297.60 and September feeders are up 
$2.32 at $296.40. And thankfully, the feeder cattle complex has been robustly 
supported in terms of fundamental support as buyers are actively seeking out 
calves/feeders to sure up their orders as turn out season is quickly 
approaching.

LEAN HOGS:

   Although pork cutout values are slightly higher, the lean hog contracts are 
trading mostly lower as traders simply need more fundamental encouragement. The 
market has posted a considerable rally since the first week of April, but now 
that traders are feeling some resistance pressure, it seems as though traders 
are scratching their heads and looking around for more support. June lean hogs 
are down $0.80 at $100.20, July lean hogs are down $0.65 at $100.57 and August 
lean hogs are down $0.20 at $99.02.

   The projected lean hog index for 4/28/2025 is up $0.60 at $88.78, and the 
actual index for 4/25/2025 is up $0.64 at $88.18. Hog prices average $92.76 on 
the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, ranging from $87.00 to $94.00 on 3,830 
head and a five-day rolling average of $91.62. Pork cutouts total 175.86 loads 
with 159.84 loads of pork cuts and 16.02 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up 
$0.30, $97.92.

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




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