The livestock complex ended the day mixed, with the cattle contracts committed to their lower trend through the week’s end, but the lean hog contracts successfully closed higher.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a lower ending, uneventful day for the live cattle complex aside from the late sampling of trade that did develop in Nebraska this afternoon. Throughout the week, the cash cattle market struggled to really establish a consistent trend for the week as Southern live cattle traded for $242 to $243, which is steady to $1.00 higher than last week’s weighted average. Northern dressed cattle traded mostly at $383, which is $2.00 lower than last week’s weighted average. But lo and behold, a regional packer in Nebraska got hungry this afternoon and ended up buying some cattle for $387, which is $4.00 higher than the rest of the week’s business and $1.00 higher than last week’s weighted average. Which then makes the mind ask: If feedlot managers in the North had held out until Friday to trade their pens, could they have sold everything for $387 as opposed to $383?
October live cattle closed $0.97 lower at $235.97, December live cattle closed $1.10 lower at $237.45 and February live cattle closed $1.20 lower at $238.67. Friday’s slaughter is estimated at 118,000 head, 17,000 head more than a week ago and 7,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday’s slaughter is projected to be around 6,000 head. The week’s total slaughter is estimated at 487,000 head, 78,000 head less than a week ago and 60,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $3.45 ($410.76) and select down $2.58 ($385.19) with a movement of 120 loads (83.22 loads of choice, 12.91 loads of select, 8.14 loads of trim and 15.23 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY’S CATTLE CALL:
Steady. Before a trend for next week can be assumed, we need to see how many cattle were bought this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Much like the rest of the week, the feeder cattle complex rounded out the day lower as the market continued to closely follow the mannerisms of the live cattle complex. Although demand has remained strong in the countryside for feeder cattle, trades simply weren’t willing to advance the contracts this week as they struggled to justify how they could soundly advance the contracts anymore. September feeders closed steady at $359.82, October feeders closed $1.05 lower at $357.90 and November feeders closed $1.92 lower at $356.15. The CME feeder cattle index 9/4/2025: up $2.61, $363.96.
What are cattle Packer margins currently?