DTN Midday Livestock Comments          06/16 11:45

   Cattle Soar Higher Into Tuesday's Noon Hour 

   With the help of external support, cattle contracts are rallying 
aggressively Tuesday. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   With the help of strong equity markets and the recent decline in oil prices, 
most of the livestock contracts are trading higher into Tuesday's noon hour. No 
cash cattle trade has developed yet and bids and asking prices still remain 
elusive. July corn is down 3/4 cent per bushel and July soybean meal is up 
$2.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 494.85 points and NASDAQ is down 
89.81 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   It's a glorious day for the live cattle contracts as not only are the 
futures trading higher, the market is rallying aggressively above its 40-day 
moving average, which has been a challenging threshold over the last three 
weeks. Consequently, Tuesday's rally only puts the market $1.00 away from the 
all-time high scored back in April. June live cattle are up $3.50 at $254.12, 
August live cattle are up $4.72 at $248.00 and October live cattle are up $4.55 
at $241.30. No cash cattle trade has developed yet and no bids or asking prices 
have surfaced at this point.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $4.86 ($399.91) and select up $1.58 
($377.99) with a movement of 57 loads (41.41 loads of choice, 8.29 loads of 
select, zero loads of trim and 7.44 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   Upon seeing the live cattle contracts rally anywhere from $3.00 to $4.00 
higher -- dare I say it's been almost easy for the feeder cattle contracts to 
push a $5.00 to $6.00 rally into Tuesday's noon hour? August feeders are up 
$5.82 at $367.37, September feeders are up $5.97 at $365.50 and October feeders 
are up $6.07 at $362.17. With the help of strong support from the outside 
equity markets, this rally is likely going to hold at least through Tuesday's 
end, if not longer.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog contracts are trading mixed into Tuesday's noon hour as the 
external support of strong equity markets and the lower prices of oil are 
helping improve the mood of the complex; but traders still want to see better 
fundamental demand. July lean hogs are down $1.15 at $95.42, August lean hogs 
are down $0.02 at $95.75 and October lean hogs are up $0.10 at $80.32. The 
projected CME Lean Hog Index for 6/15/2026 is down $0.16 at $91.93 and the 
actual index for 6/12/2026 is down $0.66 at $92.09. Hog prices on the Daily 
Direct Morning Hog Report average $95.42, ranging from $95.00 to $98.00 on 
1,185 head and a five-day rolling average of $96.32. Pork cutouts total 140.36 
loads with 124.98 loads of pork cuts and 15.39 loads of trim. Pork cutout 
values: down $1.29, $95.83.

    

   **

   NOTE:

   The cattle complex has seen record-high prices in the last year. But it's 
also been saddled with record-high risk and volatility, among many other 
challenges. To better understand these cattle market challenges, join DTN 
Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart for the inaugural Beef Industry Exchange 
webinar hosted by Senior Livestock Editor Jennifer Carrico at 9 a.m. CDT on 
June 24. 

   In addition to ShayLe's cattle market update, DTN Ag Meteorologist John 
Baranick shares how variability and a building Super El Nino might save or doom 
U.S. pastures. Due to widespread drought conditions across the U.S., cow-calf 
producers may be considering a reduction of the herd. To prepare for this, 
University of Nebraska Lincoln Beef Systems Extension Educator Aaron Berger 
shares different strategies to set up cow herd rebuilding when it rains again. 
Register for the free webinar today: 
https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdtn.link%2FBee
fIndustryExchange&data=05%7C02%7CCheri.Zagurski%40dtn.com%7C807fda3c4c664a981f56
08dec80477bd%7Cd945da26f07f451496e79b8f78a743d0%7C0%7C0%7C639168118702874444%7CU
nknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiI
sIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=CiVrIWXNYNj1JBgWhdg1CI8GUKR
aMhxlgI4NiJV2SwE%3D&reserved=0

   **

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




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