Limited direction is seen Wednesday with mixed price levels keeping live cattle trade sluggish. Initial firm losses in lean hog futures has stabilized, with most contracts 10 to 40 cents lower. Corn futures are lower in sluggish trade. May corn futures are 4 cents lower. Stock markets are lower in light trade. Dow Jones is 118 points lower with Nasdaq down 49 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Trade in live cattle markets is hovering in a narrowly mixed range. This overall lack of direction has pulled nearby prices away from initial gains, but April contracts are struggling to hold onto 10 to 25 cent gains at midday. Little direction is seen in market fundamentals at this point as traders also see limited market worthy news in cattle on feed estimates which will be released at the end of the week. The biggest factor in the cattle on feed report release will be that data is now up to date following the government shutdown. Overall lack of direction is expected to be seen in most contracts through the end of the session. Cash cattle markets still remain sluggish with bids nowhere to be seen midweek. A few asking prices are slowly starting to trickle in as cattle are priced at $130 per cwt live. It is expected to be late in the week before active trade develops. Boxed Beef cut-outs at midday are higher, $0.74 higher (select) and up $0.83 per cwt (choice) with light movement of 63 total loads reported (33 loads of choice cuts, 8 loads of select cuts, no loads of trimmings, 21 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle futures are mixed to mostly lower with the most aggressive softness developing in summer contracts. The shift lower is testing support levels set during the middle of February and a close below these levels is expected to spark additional underlying pressure through the complex. There may be some additional market pressure developing as limited support is seen in live cattle trade, potentially capping previous market gains.
LEAN HOGS:
Light pressure has developed in most lean hog contracts with all trade except spot month April holding 10 to 40 cent losses due to very limited activity Wednesday morning. April futures have posted more aggressive losses as traders focus on pulling back from recent gains in order to adjust positions and take profits midweek. Cash prices are higher on the National Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price added $0.06 at $44.62 per cwt with the range from $42.00 to $45.07 on 5,017 head reported sold. Cash prices are lower on the Iowa/Minnesota Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $0.46 at $44.51 per cwt with the range from $42.00 to $45.00 on 1,024 head reported sold. Pork carcass trickled lower despite an aggressive $7.53 per cwt rally in rib values. Pork cutouts fell $0.06 per cwt at $62.53 per cwt with 178 loads traded. Lean hog index for 3/4 is $51.94, up $0.01, with a projected two-day index is $51.85, down $0.09.
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