DTN Midday Livestock Comments          02/06 11:53

   Traders Continue to Support Livestock Contracts 

   A handful of cattle have traded in the South at $242 to $245, which is $3.00 
to $6.00 higher than last week's weighted average, No new Northern sales have 
been noted yet. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading higher into Friday's noon hour as the 
market is well supported by traders currently. Some light cash cattle trade has 
developed, but more trade will need to develop this afternoon, especially in 
the North. March corn is down 3 1/2 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is 
up $0.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 964.27 points and NASDAQ is up 
421.21 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   What a breath-holding last couple of days it's been for the cattle complex! 
Thursday, the market experienced a sharp sell-off as traders were nervous about 
the union strike at the JBS packing plant in Greely, Colorado, which 
consequently sent the live cattle complex tumbling mostly $5.00 lower. But now 
the fast-paced environment of the marketplace seems to have moved past that 
headline and traders are again fixated on the market's strong fundamental 
strength as they're pleased to note the uptick in boxed beef prices and even 
more pleased to see fed cash cattle prices trading higher. February live cattle 
are up $5.50 at $240.75, April live cattle are up $5.37 at $240.92 and June 
live cattle are up $4.85 at $237.05. A few deals have been noted Friday morning 
in the South at $242 to $245, which is $3.00 to $6.00 higher than last week's 
weighted average. And although there was some light trade in the North on 
Thursday, any bids that have been offered this morning have been passed. Asking 
prices are around $382 to $385 in the North and at $243-plus in the South.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.66 ($369.91) and select up $3.48 
($363.85) with a movement of 38 loads (24.90 loads of choice, 4.58 loads of 
select, 6.37 loads of trim and 2.11 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is enjoying a healthy rally as well as the market 
is currently trading $6.00 to $7.00 higher into Friday's noon hour. Support 
comes from the uptick in fed cash cattle prices to the additional fundamental 
support of stronger boxed beef prices and, of course, the technical confidence 
of seeing the live cattle contracts scaling higher as well. March feeders are 
up $7.70 at $371.77, April feeders are up $7.95 at $368.42 and May feeders are 
up $7.55 at $363.75. So long as the live cattle contracts continue to gain 
ground and trade higher, it's likely the feeder cattle contracts will as well.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog contracts are enjoying a mild rally into Friday's noon hour as 
the market is merely chopping sideways into the noon hour. If the market 
weren't up against immediate resistance thresholds, then there's a chance that 
it would potentially still be trading robustly higher. But with technical 
fatigue setting in and midday pork cutout values down softly, traders have 
deemed the safest bet ahead of the weekend is a mild rally as opposed to an 
aggressive one. April lean hogs are steady at $98.37, June lean hogs are up 
$0.40 at $110.95 and July lean hogs are up $0.55 at $111.92.

   The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 2/5/2026 is up $0.19 at $86.57, and the 
actual index for 2/4/2026 is up $0.32 at $86.38. Hog prices on the Daily Direct 
Morning Hog Report average $85.07, ranging from $84.00 to $86.00 on 735 head 
and a five-day rolling average of $86.12. Pork cutouts total 136.49 loads with 
121.87 loads of pork cuts and 14.63 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down 
$0.76, $94.51.

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




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