CattleLink Market View

Live cattle: Last week, the live cattle complex traded mostly higher, as traders were hoping that fundamental support would develop in the fed cash cattle market, and it did. Southern live cattle traded steady to $2 higher at $233 to $235, and Northern dressed cattle traded mostly $5 higher at $370.

Feeder cattle: The feeder cattle complex traded higher throughout most of last week’s trade. And although Friday’s Jan. 1 Cattle on Feed report showed neutral data, traders elected to look at the strong fundamental support of higher fed cash cattle sales and continued to drive the contracts higher through Monday’s trade.

Lean hogs: With the help of continued consumer support, the lean hog complex continued to scale higher throughout last week’s trade and reach new contract highs multiple times in the spot April contract.

Corn: March corn futures closed Monday at $4.28 1/4, down 2 1/4 cents. March corn futures continue to drift moderately higher after setting five-month lows in mid-January, with Friday (Jan. 23) being a particularly bullish session. World demand for U.S. corn has surged on the post-WASDE price decline, with export sales for the week ending Jan. 15 the largest in almost five years.

Soybean Meal: March soybean meal futures closed down $5.60 per ton on Monday to $294.30. March meal futures were higher in three of four sessions last week, but reversed rapidly on Monday, Jan. 26, as prices hit technical resistance, and meal supplies across the U.S. remain ample with the crush industry running at record capacity.