CattleLink Market View

Live cattle: The past week has been a challenge for the live cattle complex. The market has endured stiff technical pressure, as news has spread that JBS will indeed see a strike at the Greeley, Colorado, plant next week. This news not only pressured the contracts to trade lower, but also negatively affected the cash market. Last week, Southern live cattle traded at $240, which was $4 lower than the previous week’s weighted average, and Northern dressed cattle traded at $380, which was $3 lower than the previous week’s weighted average.

Feeder cattle: The feeder cattle complex has also been challenged in recent trading sessions, as the complex continues to closely follow and mirror the behavior of the live cattle market. And until the live cattle sector finds some stability, the feeder cattle contracts will likely continue to drift lower. 

Lean hogs: The lean hog complex ran into some resistance last week and likely won’t challenge that threshold until consumer demand improves noticeably. 

Corn: May corn rose 12 cents last week, boosted by fund buying and traders adding war premium, but fell 6 3/4 cents on Monday to settle at $4.53 3/4 on a volatile day affected by the Iran conflict.

Soymeal: May soymeal dropped $3.30 last week and fell another $3.70 Monday, as the soy complex reversed early strength to finish at $313.50.