Moderate to strong gains have quickly moved into all livestock trade. Lean hog futures have posted strong triple-digit gains in nearby trade with traders quickly and aggressively reacting to Monday's lows. Cattle futures have continued to spark underlying support as new contract highs have helped spark additional technical support. Corn futures are lower in sluggish trade. March corn futures are 3 3/4 cents lower. Stock markets are lower in light trade. Dow Jones is 19 points lower with Nasdaq down 10 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
February live cattle trade has continued to develop, even though volume in the February contracts remains extremely light due to most traders already rolling out of the February contract, which is in the middle of the delivery period. April futures are holding firm gains, with a $0.57 gain through the morning as traders focus on continued fundamental support from beef values and expected cash trade. Nearby contracts have continued to set new contract highs, which is brining additional, but limited trade back into the complex. Cash cattle markets are at a standstill Tuesday, which is not surprising given the overall limited interest seen until the end of the week. A few asking prices are starting to develop at $130 and higher live and $206 and higher dressed. Bids may not be seen until midweek or later, likely pushing active trade to the end of the week once again. Boxed Beef cut-outs at midday are higher, $1.60 higher (select) and up $0.39 per cwt (choice) with light movement of 76 total loads reported (53 loads of choice cuts, 7 loads of select cuts, 6 loads of trimmings, 9 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Strong gains have continued to move into feeder cattle trade with traders moving the focus back to the lack of support in grain trade while continued gains develop in live cattle markets. Pressure in corn and soybean markets has rekindled the focus on lower production costs, which is expected to allow for additional buyer support for cash feeder cattle prices. Price levels in the Oklahoma City market Monday are seen steady to $3 per cwt higher than week-ago levels, helping to solidify additional underlying support in futures trade.
LEAN HOGS:
Strong triple-digit gains have improved through the morning with April futures holding a $1.97 per cwt rally. This support is focusing on regaining buyer support, which quickly evaporated Monday. The potential to spark underlying technical support once prices moved below $54 per cwt has sparked additional interest through the complex. Additional gains in pork cutout values has added to the underlying support in lean hog trade Tuesday, with traders looking for encouraging pork values to continue through the week. Cash prices are lower on the National Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $0.30 at $45.99 per cwt with the range from $43.00 to $46.65 on 6,121 head reported sold. Cash prices are lower on the Iowa/Minnesota Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $0.19 at $45.47 per cwt with the range from $43.00 to $46.00 on 2,771 head reported sold. Pork carcass values bounced higher Monday morning following triple digit gains in most primal cuts. Pork cutouts added $1.04 per cwt at $61.96 per cwt with 218 loads traded. Lean hog index for 2/22 is $53.13, down $0.52, with a projected two-day index is $52.85, down $0.28.
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