CattleLink Market View

Live cattle: Last week was a slow-building week for the live cattle complex. Early in the week, the futures complex traded sideways, but by the week’s end, traders pushed the contracts higher, as they continued to believe in the market’s bullish fundamentals. At the time of this writing, the only trade noted in the cash market was in parts of Nebraska at mostly $382, which was $4 higher than the previous week’s weighted average.

Feeder cattle: The feeder cattle complex chopped sideways throughout last week, seeming to keep a close alignment with the live cattle market’s trend. Demand was steady to somewhat stronger in the countryside for feeder cattle and calves last week, but a stronger undertone was certainly noticed on heavier-weighted feeders that could make grass cattle in a few months. 

Lean hogs: Last week was a painful week for the lean hog complex. The market plummeted lower, as traders have quickly worked the market away from the new contract highs made just a week ago and worry about an overabundance of supply. 

Corn: March corn futures finished the week up 1 1/2 cents to close at $4.31 3/4, supported by strong export sales and reports of quality issues with Chinese corn.

Soybean Meal: March soybean meal futures rallied for the second straight week, moving up $5.60 to settle at $309.20 on solid exports and optimism over future Chinese buying.