Tuesday Closing Livestock Market Summary - Cattle Futures Continue to Move Lower

GENERAL COMMENTS: Moderate-to-firm pressure quickly developed throughout the livestock trade, although select contracts managed to move higher. Deferred feeder cattle contracts posted triple-digit losses following increased pressure in live cattle trade. Cash cattle markets remained at a complete standstill with no sign of asking prices or bids at this point in the week. Limited interest is expected to be seen over the next couple of days, but this may keep traders from making deals until sometime Friday. The National Daily Direct afternoon hog report was unreported due to packer submission issues at this time. Corn futures were higher in light activity with May up 2 1/2 cents per bushel. The Dow Jones Index was 140 points higher with the Nasdaq up 53 points.

LIVE CATTLE: Light pressure eroded buyer interest as traders tested recent market lows. Futures closed $0.12 to $0.77 lower. Limited direction developed Tuesday as traders tired to find a sense of support. Beef demand is expected to continue to firm through the summer, but with traders backing away from nearby highs, the sense of market support has disappeared. Nearby contracts traded 40 to 70 cents per cwt lower Tuesday, with more direction placed on outside market shifts as well as upcoming cash trade. Beef cutouts were not available due to reporting issues.

WEDNESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady. Asking prices and bids are yet to develop for the week. Although this is not unexpected for a Tuesday, it will likely delay any significant activity until late in the week.

FEEDER CATTLE: Weakness developed in feeder cattle trade late Tuesday as live cattle futures slid lower. Feeder cattle futures settled mixed, $1.35 lower to $0.57 higher. Limited buyer interest slowly moved through nearby feeder cattle futures with lightly traded March holding a 57-cent gain. Limited buying early in the session kept deferred contracts under pressure. Summer and fall contracts posted triple-digit losses based on potential late placements in feed yards. CME cash feeder index for 3/251 is $142.04, up $0.24.

LEAN HOGS: The spot-month lean hog contract found support on potential export demand, but support was inconsistent through the rest of the complex. Futures closed mixed, $0.22 lower to $1.07 higher. Spot-month April closed at $79.72 per cwt following a strong $1.07-per-cwt rally. Rumors that China would actively buy U.S. pork through the rest of the year sparked support throughout the lean hog trade early Tuesday. But May through October futures faltered through the day as traders were not able to sustain market interest. Even though most summer contracts were stable, the ability to hold prices at or near contract highs continues to spark renewed interest through the entire complex. Pork cutout values are unreported at this time due to reporting issues. CME cash lean index for 3/22 is $64.97, up $2.56. DTN Projected lean index for 3/25: $67.13, up $2.16.

WEDNESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady to $2 higher. Continued cash market support is expected to redevelop midweek, although the lack of aggressive futures trade may curb the intensity of cash buying activity over the next couple of days. Wednesday slaughter is expected at 477,000 head. Saturday runs are expected at 146,000 head.

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