Wednesday Closing Livestock Market Summary - Lean Hogs Rebound With Triple-Digit Gains

GENERAL COMMENTS

The cash hog trade remained a no-show Wednesday with poorly defined bids and asking prices separated by as much as $8 on a live basis. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.92 higher ($66-$75, weighted average $72.47). Corn futures closed 4-5 cents lower with spot July falling to a three-month low. The stock market closed sharply higher with the Dow up 346 points and the Nasdaq better by 51.

LIVE CATTLE

This was one of those days when bulls should have snapped the picture earlier. Live futures held triple-digit gains through most of the morning, but profit-taking late in the session made final settlement look far tamer. Nevertheless, the market finished generally in the green (i.e., up 2 to 110) with spot June landing its best close since March 22. June seemed to run out of gas just below its 100-day moving average and 50% retracement of the first quarter sell-off. Beef cut-outs: lower, off $0.61 (choice: $226.97) to $2.20 (select: $203.65) with light and light-to-moderate offerings (53 loads of choice cuts, 42 loads of select cuts, 13 loads of trimmings, 31 loads of ground beef).

THURSDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL:

Steady to $2 higher. Buying and selling should start to take on better definition Thursday, though significant trade volume may be delayed until sometime Friday.

FEEDER CATTLE:

Although feeder futures also faded in the last hour of trading, most contracts still managed to finish 62 to 97 higher. Spot August managed to nose above its 100-day moving average. Part of the credit for feeders suffering less of a late slide than their live counterparts was no doubt linked to new lows set in the corn market. 06/05: $139.21, up $0.18.

LEAN HOGS:

Lean hog futures quickly seemed to move beyond (at least for the moment) the bearish news of Mexican tariffs on U.S pork, closing sharply higher with price gains of 100 to 292. June and July successfully closed above 100-day moving averages while August settled above its 40-day moving average. The carcass value close some lower with weakness in ribs and hams overshadowing belly and loin strength. Pork cut-out: $78.24, off $0.29. CME cash lean index for 06/04: $71.73, up $0.65 (DTN Projected lean index for 06/05: $72.50, up $0.77).

THURSDAY'S CASH HOG CALL:

Steady to $1 higher. Look for cash bids to roll higher in the morning as country receipts continue to tighten.