Cattle trade is expected to be quiet today. Asking prices on cattle left on the lists or on the new lists for next week are mostly $106.00 in the south. There are no bids.

The choice cutout was down $0.48 at $177.76 last night, with the select down $0.49 at $172.24. Middles saw decent demand, though ends are under a little pressure. Both parts of the carcass are behaving in a typically seasonal fashion. The big question is: can strength in the middles offset weakness in the ends. Usually they do not and cutout values tend to fade into the middle of June.

HOGS:

Hog calls are steady to $0.50 lower this morning. Hog numbers appear to be tightening into next week, but kill/cut margins are so poor that packers are electing to cut hours rather than chase hogs.

The pork cutout gained $0.31 last night. Loins were unquoted, but are said to be still under a bit of pressure. Butts were mostly 4 cents lower on the day. Hams were steady to a penny lower. Bellies were 2 cents lower on a lack of slice business. The sky high prices earlier this spring killed any decent feature activity for the summer.

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Written by Robin Fuller. For more information or trading ideas about this market, Please contact us at (312)896- 2001 or email us at sales@linngroup.com.