GENERAL COMMENTS:
Cattle contracts had no more go in the tank after Monday's spike, steadily trading lower throughout the entire day. Lean hog contracts took Tuesday with a constant stride and look to the upcoming weeks for direction and market opportunities. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.18 with a weighted average of $50.33. March corn is down 1/4 cent per bushel and March soybean meal is down $1.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 120.24 points and NASDAQ is down 2.88 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle futures close lower but not as low as the day presented earlier. February live cattle contracts closed $0.75 lower at $126.52, April live cattle closed $0.72 lower at $127.37 and June live cattle closed $0.47 lower at $118.97. Packers are holding out until later in the week for acquisition of cattle, trying to see if the market is going to teeter lower as they would like or circle back as feeders hope. Early asking prices around $127 in the South, and $203 plus in the North.
Boxed beef prices close lower: choice down $0.09 ($209.56) and select up $0.02 ($206.82) with a movement of 156 loads (104.61 loads of choice, 21.61 loads of select, 8.17 loads of trim and 21.69 loads of ground beef).
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 123,000 head, 3,000 head more than a year ago.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady to $1.00 higher. Seeing that the offering on the Fed Cattle Exchange is light, packers may really keep quiet until sometime Thursday or Friday. Once trade does develop, it wouldn't be shocking seeing that the market is now well into the first quarter, if prices were at least steady to $1.00 higher.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle prices closed Tuesday lower throughout the entire complex, but Tuesday's close was still in the upper half of Monday's trade. January feeders closed $1.52 lower at $145.90, March feeders closed the day $1.22 lower at $145.12 and April feeders closed the day $0.92 lower at $147.80.
At Oklahoma National Stockyards, compared to the last sale on December 16, 19 feeder steers and heifers weighing 600 to 700 pounds sold steady to $3.00 higher while heavier weights sold $1.00 to $3.00 lower. Steer calves sold steady to $4.00 higher and heifer calves sold $2.00 to $6.00 higher. Demand good with very active bidding from a full crowd and quality was plain to attractive with many uniform, home-raised yearlings on offer. The CME feeder cattle index 1/6/20: down $0.55 at $145.98.
LEAN HOGS:
Patiently waiting, the lean hog market continues to be in a long, sideways trade. Wednesday will be just one week from the phase one trade agreement signing; in the meantime, we all wait patiently. February lean hogs closed $0.60 higher at $69.22, April lean hogs closed $0.80 higher at $75.75 and May lean hogs closed $0.67 higher at $82.12. Pork cutouts totaled 476.97 loads with 436.37 loads of pork cuts and 40.61 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.27 at $73.49. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 497,000 head, 24,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 1/3/20: up $0.57 at $59.19.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Slightly higher. Positive news that China is chipping through more of their pork inventory is a good sign for American producers. There was a large movement of product Tuesday and aggressive slaughter prices may have an opportunity to increase slightly.
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