GENERAL COMMENTS:
As if Mondays weren't tough enough already, the news of the coronavirus spreading into South Korea and Japan panicked the market and sent livestock contracts lower -- limit lower in some cases. Hog prices closed lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.03 with a weighted average of $48.72. March corn is down 4 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $2.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1,031.61 points and NASDAQ is down 355.31 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle contracts didn't fare too well through Monday's fearful selling spree. February live cattle closed $2.72 lower at $117.00, April live cattle closed $3.00 lower at $115.25 and June live cattle closed $2.90 lower at $107.37. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas, and Kansas, but lower in Nebraska/Colorado. Cash cattle trade has yet to really develop, but when it does this week it will most likely be painful to watch unless the market turns around and makes a come back all while changing the moral of producers, traders and investors.
Boxed beef prices close higher: choice up $1.98 ($207.07) and select up $0.67 ($202.37) with a movement of 98 loads (56.12 loads of choice, 12.11 loads of select, 13.12 loads of trim and 16.97 loads of ground beef). Monday's slaughter is estimated at 118,000 head, 11,000 head more than a week ago and 3,000 head more than a year ago.
TUESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Lower. The futures market (whether rational or not) is tumbling hand over fist. Unless the later part of the week strengthens and producers don't rapid fire sell their cattle early in the week, cash prices will most likely be lower.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle contracts suffered tremendously Monday as a bulk of the contracts sold with limit losses. March feeders sold $4.17 lower at $136.02, April feeders sold $4.50 lower at $137.60 and May feeders sold $4.50 lower at $138.35. Until the market builds some certainty around knowing how wide and vast the coronavirus is going to spread, worry about other country's economies becomes worrisome. Compared to last week feeders in Missouri both steers and heifers sold $5.00 to $10.00 higher, with the sharpest advancement of 400 to 550 weight feeders. As the market begins too look to spring and the opportunity of grass, both feeders and farmer feeders are interested in buying up calves but have to pay a little more since there aren't as many around this year. The CME feeder cattle index 2/21/2020: down $1.05, $141.02.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean hog prices kept more ground than the cattle contracts did but still closed $1.20 to $2.40 lower. April lean hogs are down $2.40 at $64.62, June lean hogs are down $1.90 at $79.95 and July lean hogs are down $1.45 at $81.27. Pork cutouts totaled 276.90 loads with 255.78 loads of pork cuts and 21.12 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.32, $66.32. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 495,000 head, 10,000 head more than a week ago and 139,000 more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 2/20/2020: up $0.09, $55.87.
TUESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: It's hard to say what cash prices will be with so much uncertainty floating around the marketplace. Lower is the better guess as every sector of the industry seems to be cautious of the marketplace right now.
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