DTN Midday Livestock Comments          10/24 11:55

   Cattle Trade Sharply Lower at Midday Friday as the Market is Psychotically 
Drained

   Some cash cattle trade has begun to be reported at $370 in the North and 
$238 in the South, both of which are $2.00 cheaper than last week's weighted 
average.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Emotional damage done this past week is the primary reason why the cattle 
complex is trading lower. With the chaos that ensued over the announcement of 
potentially cheapening beef prices with Argentina imports, the market was a hot 
topic this week for everyone. Now that the market sits a couple of hours away 
from closing for the week, traders are waving their white flag, all but saying, 
"We've had enough already, let this week end." December corn is down 4 3/4 
cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $1.60. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average is up 485.37 points and the NASDAQ is up 286.60 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   Where do I even begin in writing comments today? As you look across the 
futures complex, all you see when you gaze across the cattle contracts is 
sharply lower prices -- mostly $7.25 lower in the live cattle complex, and 
limit lower again in the feeder cattle arena. My phone has been blowing up this 
morning with the same message being asked: what did we miss? What happened this 
morning? What's causing today's mudslide? The market seems psychologically 
fried from this past week, and traders have all but wiped their hands of the 
market today. There's too much volatility and uncertainty being laced within 
the complex (mostly being driven by headlines and posts on social platform X) 
for there to be any sound decision-making and credence put on the market's 
bullish, long-term fundamental trajectory. I wish there was a more tangible 
reason as to why the market was trading lower this morning, but after the week 
the market has endured, traders are just waving their white flag, waiting for 
the board to close and the week to thankfully end.

   December live cattle are down $7.25 at $233.92, February live cattle are 
down $7.25 at $233.42 and April live cattle are down $7.25 at $232.75. There's 
some light trade being noted in the North, where dressed cattle are trading at 
$370, which is $2.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Some Southern 
trade is being reported at $238, which is also $2.00 lower than last week's 
weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.76 ($375.90) and select up $2.87 
($357.61) with a movement of 109 loads (84.91 loads of choice, 7.34 loads of 
select, 8.60 loads of trim and 7.85 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is trading at its daily limit, down $9.25, as 
traders have had enough of the cattle complex uncertainty this week. November 
feeders are down $9.25 at $352.20, January feeders are down $9.25 at $348.17 
and March feeders are down $9.25 at $345.05. Unfortunately, today's severe 
decline has pushed the November spot back below its 40-day moving average, 
which is not a good technical signal.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog complex is currently trading mixed as the market doesn't have 
enough support to really push prices higher ahead of the day's close, so a 
mixed tone is what traders feel safest with. December lean hogs are up $0.55 at 
$82.32, February lean hogs are up $0.12 at $84.47 and April lean hogs are down 
$0.10 at $88.87. It's likely that the complex will close with this 
lackadaisical tone and hope that next week's market shows more support so it 
can trade higher from there.

   The projected lean hog index for 10/23/2025 is down $0.68 at $92.95, and the 
actual index for 10/22/2025 is down $0.55 at $93.63. Hog prices are unavailable 
on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we 
can see that only 425 head have traded and that the market's five-day rolling 
average now sits at $89.15. Pork cutouts total 273.97 loads with 243.80 loads 
of pork cuts and 30.16 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.95, $102.66.

   ShayLe Stewart can be reached [email protected]




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