GENERAL COMMENTS:
The board was chipped away on livestock prices
this week, but having closed higher on Friday leaves some positivity.
Hog prices dipped lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report,
down $0.08 with a weighted average $46.59. March corn is steady and
January soybean meal is down $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is
up 337.27 points and NASDAQ is up 85.83 points.
From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored
the following changes: December live cattle are down $1.00, February
live cattle are down $1.22; January feeders are down $0.72, March feeder
are down $1.35; December lean hogs are down $0.90, February lean hogs
are down $0.63.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle contracts closed higher and cash
cattle prices have yet to rally like assumed. December live cattle
closed $0.27 higher at $120.00, February live cattle closed $0.37 higher
at $124.97 and April live cattle closed $0.20 higher at $125.35. Even
though packers need cattle, their patient spirit and no-worry attitude
leaves one to believe that $1.00 higher in South and potentially $2.00
higher in the North (depending on what happens Friday afternoon) is all
gas in the tank for this week. Given that this week's boxed beef prices
whittled away steadily, packers are being more cautious. Light trade has
developed Friday afternoon at $188 in Nebraska, $1.00 higher than last
week's weighted average. It may be safe to assume that business is
wrapped up in the South, but there are still cattle to be sold in the
North.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.04
($224.56) and select down $0.82 ($207.30) with a total movement of 132
loads (77.72 loads of choice, 22.67 loads of select, 10.07 loads of trim
and 21.31 loads of ground beef). Friday's slaughter is estimated at
121,000 head, steady with a year ago.
MONDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady. Cash cattle
obviously won't trade Monday but how this week's trade wraps up will
largely set the tone for next week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Able to close the week on a positive note,
feeder cattle contracts closed higher. Feeder cattle contracts could be
in for a bit of a ride until countryside demand helps drive market
clarity once again. A sale here and there are noting strong prices, but
there are equally as many sales noting lower prices. Simply due to the
fact that pens are full, calves are a dime a dozen and no one is overly
thrilled with the idea of feeding calves through the winter, prices may
be rough until demand for calves is found again.
On an estimated run of 2,315 head compared to
two weeks ago, steers at Valentine Livestock Auction in Valentine,
Nebraska, weighing 450 to 550 pounds sold for $4.00 to $5.00 higher and
heifers were too lightly tested to determine a trend. Demand was notably
good, buyers filled the seats and the warmer weather helped keep morals
high and buyers interested. The CME feeder cattle index 12/5/19: not
available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean hog contracts closed lower in the spot and
closed nearby contracts, but other than that closed mildly higher.
December lean hogs are down $0.45 at $61.12, February lean hogs are down
$0.02 at $67.55 and April lean hogs are up $0.20 at $73.70. Pork
cutouts totaled 289.13 loads with 255.97 loads of pork cuts and 33.15
loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.72 at $82.08. Friday's hog
slaughter is estimated at 329,000 head, 136,000 head more than a year
ago. The CME lean hog index 12/04/19: $58.34, up $0.14.
MONDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady. This week's cash
market rallied significantly for the hog market. Given the time of year
it is -- and the market uncertainty with export potential -- it would
be tough to carry such a vigorous speed all the way through next week.
 |
| #completecalfcare |
No comments:
Post a Comment