DTN Midday Livestock Comments          05/18 12:11

   Lower Tones Dominate the Livestock Complex at Monday's Noon Hour

   Showlists this week are lighter in Texas, but mostly steady in Kansas, 
Nebraska and Colorado.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading lower into Monday's noon hour as the market 
is needing to see strong fundamental support before trades will likely 
confidently advance the contracts this week. Showlists this week are lighter in 
Texas, but mostly steady in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. July corn is up 20 
cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $2.60. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average is up 33.49 points and the NASDAQ is down 246.99 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   Initially the live cattle complex was off to a bullish start as all of its 
contracts were trading higher at Monday's open, but as traders saw how close 
the market was to resistance pressure -- they quickly changed their mind and 
have since gingerly walked the contracts back slightly. June live cattle are up 
$0.05 at $253.90, August live cattle are down $0.20 at $247.72 and October live 
cattle are down $0.45 at $238.70. Showlists this week are lighter in Texas, but 
mostly steady in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.

   Last week Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $410 to $415 which is 
$7.00 to $12.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average and Southern 
live cattle traded at mostly $260 to $263 which is $3.00 to $5.00 higher than 
the previous week's weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.67 ($391.92) and select up $0.81 
($390.06) with a movement of 41 loads (17.36 loads of choice, 4.46 loads of 
select, 8.64 loads of trim and 10.65 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   And in keeping with the same theme in which the market has been doing now 
for weeks on end -- the feeder cattle complex continues to closely track and 
mimic the movements of the live cattle complex. May feeders are down $0.12 at 
$367.55, August feeders are down $2.55 at $358.90 and September feeders are 
down $2.77 at $356.40. And with later this week the Monthly Cattle on Feed 
report set to be released -- the market could remain more cautious ahead of 
that report's release.

LEAN HOGS:

   Even though pork cutout values are higher, the lean hog complex is also 
trading lower as traders remain uncomfortable with the support -- or more so 
lack of fundamental support -- that they've recently seen in the marketplace. 
June lean hogs are down $0.07 at $98.67, July lean hogs are down $0.35 at 
$103.00 and August lean hogs are down $0.72 at $103.42. A choppy sideways trend 
is most likely going to continue in the hog complex until something noticeable 
develops from the market's fundamentals.

   The projected lean hog index for 5/15/2026 is up $0.04 at $90.50 and the 
actual index for 5/14/2026 is down $0.02 at $90.46. Hog prices are unavailable 
on the Daily Direct Morning Hog report because of confidentiality. However, we 
can see that only 187 head have traded this morning and that the week's 
five-day rolling average now sits at $94.50. Pork cutouts total 148.51 loads 
with 128.11 loads of pork cuts and 20.40 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up 
$1.64, $99.20.

    

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




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