DTN Midday Livestock Comments          01/22 11:43

   Hogs Inch Higher While Cattle Hold Steady

   The livestock complex is trading mixed into midday Thursday as the lean hog 
market continues to be met with demand and support, while the cattle complex is 
in a waiting spell. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading mixed into midday Thursday, with the lean 
hog contracts trending higher while the cattle market trades mostly lower. 
Still no cash cattle trade has developed, and no bids are currently on the 
table. March corn is up 1 1/2 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up 
$4.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 475.19 points and the NASDAQ is 
up 246.09 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   With still no lofty developments yet in this week's fed cash cattle market, 
the live cattle contracts are trading mostly lower into midday Thursday. It's 
also not been helpful that midday boxed beef prices are lower, which is a 
seasonal trend for this time, but either way, it doesn't "feel" good to a 
market that's looking for increased fundamental support. February live cattle 
are down $0.62 at $232.47, April live cattle are down $0.20 at $234.75 and June 
live cattle are up $0.02 at $230.90. Asking prices are noted in the North at 
$370 but are still not established in the South. Trade could likely be delayed 
until after Friday's Cattle on Feed report.

   Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.22 ($365.89) and select down 
$2.41 ($360.04) with a movement of 56 loads (36.72 loads of choice, 5.00 loads 
of select, zero loads of trim and 14.19 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is continuing to trade mixed, and the market is 
again following in the wake of the live cattle complex. January feeders are up 
$0.50 at $363.72, March feeders are down $0.17 at $359.20 and April feeders are 
down $0.20 at $357.92. The market will likely maintain a sideways chop until 
Friday's Cattle on Feed report is released.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog complex is back to trading higher as traders are seeing 
continued support in pork demand and are willing to scale the contracts higher 
even though the market is already trading at new contract highs in the spot 
April contract. February lean hogs are up $0.25 at $88.10, April lean hogs are 
up $0.50 at $96.10 and June lean hogs are up $).17 at $108.35. The cash market 
is trading in a thin manner again today, but packers did buy over 2,000 head in 
Wednesday's market, which is a "big" movement compared to recent days.

   The projected lean hog index for 1/21/2026 is up $0.67 at $83.07, and the 
actual index for 1/20/2026 is up $0.37 at $82.40. Hog prices are again 
unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. 
However, we can see that only 150 head have traded this morning. Pork cutouts 
totaled 131.84 loads with 113.80 loads of pork cuts and 18.04 loads of trim. 
Pork cutout values: up $0.60, $94.58.

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




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