GENERAL COMMENTS:
For one livestock market, this week has been fruitful and for the other, it has been brutally painful. Cattle contracts can't win this week and the lean hog market was tactfully aligned to capture this week's opportunity. Hog prices are higher on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.15 with a weighted average of $52.07. March corn is up 5 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $1.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 26.18 points and NASDAQ is up 18.71 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Lower prices are on everyone's mind as the board tumbles lower, cash prices are steady to $1.00 and the most exciting part about this week, for the cattle side of things, is that the week is almost over and the damage will cease for the weekend. Even though prices are not where a lot of cash market enthusiasts would like to see them, the fact that demand is still pushing an aggressive slaughter schedule is positive. February live cattle close $1.50 lower at $124.67, April live cattle closed $2.60 lower at $124.17 ad June live cattle closed $2.12 lower at $116.32. A small volume of trade happened in the North Thursday afternoon, dressed at $198 to $199, which is steady to $1.00 lower from last week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $0.36 ($215.32) and select down $0.82 ($211.20) with a movement of 119 loads (73.72 loads of choice, 25.29 loads of select, 6.59 loads of trim and 13.77 loads of ground beef). Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 122,000 head, steady with a week ago and 5,000 head more than a year ago.
FRIDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady. If there are cattle that trade on Friday it will be clean up in nature and mostly likely steady, if not slightly lower.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Another day of lower prices bite the feeder cattle contracts, as support is obsolete and significant market position was lost through Thursday's closing. January feeders closed $1.15 lower at $142.77, March feeders closed $2.52 lower at $140.52 and April feeders closed $2.55 lower at $143.47. On Wednesday, at Torrington Livestock Auction in Torrington, Wyoming, 5,576 head of feeders sold on average compared to last week steers sold unevenly steady with the exception of steers over 700 pounds which traded $3.00 to $5.00 lower. Heifers calves under 600 pounds sold steady to $3.00 lower. Heifers calves over 600 pounds sold $2.00 higher. The CME feeder cattle index 1/22/2020: down $0.31, $144.86.
LEAN HOGS:
Cash market enthusiasm carried into closing with nearby markets closing higher and cutout values carried strong, thus leaving the lean hog market with another win as the week comes close to an end. Deferred contracts on the lean hog market weakened a bit a dipped $0.05 to $0.65 lower for October 2020, December 2020 and February 2021. February lean hogs closed $0.95 higher at $68.50, April lean hogs closed $0.82 higher at $75.35 and May lean hogs closed $0.92 higher at $81.77. Pork cutouts total 270.88 loads with 240.29 loads of pork cuts and 30.59 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.10, $78.84. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 497,000 head, steady with a week ago 24,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 1/21/2020: up $0.84, $61.02.
FRIDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Slightly higher. It wouldn’t be surprising at this point to see the lean hog market carry its momentum all the way through the week's closing. It's apparent that the cattle contracts aren't going to do much this week and thus leaves the center stage for the lean hog market.
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