DTN Midday Livestock Comments          11/03 11:51

   Cattle Find Support Monday Morning

   Traders are hopeful that fundamental support will surface later this week 
and continue to help the cattle contracts trade higher. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading mixed into Monday's noon hour as the cattle 
contracts have been met with trader support, but the lean hog contracts are 
still trading lower. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in 
Nebraska/Colorado and Kansas, but lower in Texas. December corn is up 1 3/4 
cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $2.00. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average is down 181.94 points and NASDAQ is up 154.01 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex is back to trading higher early this week following 
Friday's slightly weaker close. More than anything, traders are reappraising 
the marketplace, hoping that more fundamental support will arise and that 
traders will be able to push prices above and beyond the market's 100-day 
moving average, which is a threshold traders aren't confident that the market 
can successfully move past right now even though prices are trading higher. 
December live cattle are up $2.32 at $232.00, February live cattle are up $2.37 
at $230.05 and April live cattle are up $2.17 at $228.90. New showlists appear 
to be mixed, higher in Nebraska/Colorado and Kansas, but lower in Texas.

   Last week, Southern live cattle traded at $235 to $235.50, which is $2.50 to 
$4.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle 
traded at mostly $358 to $360, which is $9.00 to $11.00 lower than the previous 
week's weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.42 ($379.55) and select up $2.29 
($360.94) with a movement of 39 loads (23.21 loads of choice, 6.02 loads of 
select, zero loads of trim and 9.95 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is leading the cattle market's surge this morning 
as prices are trading mostly $5.00 higher into Monday's noon hour. November 
feeders are up $3.17 at $342.05, January feeders are up $4.42 at $336.32 and 
March feeders are up $5.17 at $332.30. Following the slew of events that 
transpired over the last two to three weeks, which negatively impacted the 
market -- feeder cattle sales in the countryside have been noticeably lower, 
with prices often trading $20.00 to $50.00 lower the compared to two to three 
weeks ago. Hopefully if the board begins to trade higher, feeder cattle sales 
will find more buyer support too.

LEAN HOGS:

   Without anything substantial developing yet in the lean hog market's 
fundamentals, it's not surprising to see the contracts again trading lower. 
December lean hogs are down $0.32 at $80.95, February lean hogs are down $0.22 
at $82.30 and April lean hogs are down $0.12 at $86.10. Before traders will 
likely support the contracts and help prices turn higher, they're going to need 
to see consumer demand improve.

   The projected lean hog index for 10/31/2025 is down $0.21 at $90.98, and the 
actual index for 10/30/2025 is down $0.34 at $91.19. Hog prices are lower on 
the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $2.00 with a weighted average price 
of $83.41, ranging from $82.00 to $85.00 on 849 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $87.72. Pork cutouts total 157.11 loads with 129.22 loads of pork 
cuts and 27.89 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.24, $103.19.

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




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