Thursday Closing Livestock Market Summary

Closing Comments 

The fed cattle trade remained extremely quiet through the day. The small handful of bids and asking prices that were evident seemed to be separated by $6 or more on a live basis. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.80 lower ($54.00-$60.00, weighted average $59.04). The corn trade closed generally 4 cents lower thanks to a general lack of buying interest. The stock market closed higher with both the Dow and Nasdaq up by 14 points.

LIVE CATTLE

Live contracts closed moderately higher, scoring gains of 17 to 77. The relatively modest round of pre-cash short-covering appears to be technically insignificant. Having said that, spot April and June do seem to be respecting 40-day moving averages. Beef cut-outs: significantly lower, off $0.23 (select, $200.28) to $1.81 (choice, $207.90) with light to moderate demand and moderate offerings (64 loads of choice cuts, 35 loads of select cuts, zero loads of trimmings, 12 loads of coarse grinds).

FRIDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL:

Steady to $2 lower. It will be "put up or shut up" time on Friday for cattle buyers and feedlot managers. Look for light-to-moderate trade volume to surface in all areas sometime late morning and late afternoon.

FEEDER CATTLE

Feeder issues rocked higher with triple-digit gains (i.e., closing 122 to 175 higher). Beyond short-covering activity, buying may have been tied to lower corn prices and the premium cash index. CME cash feeder index: 04/05: $133.21 up $0.08.

LEAN HOGS

Although spot April only advanced by 30 points, the balance of the 2014 field surged sharply higher (i.e., up 112 to 167 higher. Today's rally seemed primarily tied to profit-taking interest and the correction of oversold charts. Carcass value continued to pull lower, especially pressured by softer bellies, ribs, and butts. Pork cut-out: $74.11, off $0.76. CME cash lean index for 04/04: $66.60, off $0.47 (DTN Projected lean index for 04/05: $66.15, off $0.45).

FRIDAY'S CASH HOG CALL

Steady to $1 lower. Late-week hog buyers are likely to remain on the defensive as large country offerings continue to lend them plenty of leverage.