The back and forth nature of this week's trade really emphasizes the stark reality of when emotion rules the marketplace. One day markets crash lower, the next day their losses are only minimal, then the market begins to trade higher, but then dives lower again. The back and forth uncertainty pushes traders away as the marketplace is too volatile and it suppresses prices in the cash market as both markets are emotionally tied. We know that markets as vulnerable as the people that trade within their reach, but unprecedented volatility creates a lot of distrust which takes a long time to come back around. May corn is down 7 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $3.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 394.96 points and NASDAQ is down 152.51 points.
LIVE CATTLE
Live cattle contracts haven't been able to escape from Thursday's pressure and are trading fully lower. April live cattle are down $1.60 at $110.80, June live cattle are down $1.00 at $104.02 and August live cattle are down $0.57 at $104.40. Cash cattle trade seems to more or less done for the week as Thursday morning has been quiet from both packers and feeders. Asking prices for cattle that are still available are $117-plus in the South and $187-plus in the North.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.50 ($205.84) and select up $1.24 ($199.84) with a movement of 101 loads (77.45 loads of choice, 11.67 loads of select, 0 loads of trim and 12.06 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE
Feeder cattle contracts are trading with some triple digit losses in nearby contracts as noon approaches. March feeders are down $3.15 at $130.92, April feeders are down $3.72 at $132.25 and May feeders are down $3.22 at $ 133.65. At this point, the back and forth ambiguity of the coronavirus scare has the marketplace in utter turmoil.
LEAN HOGS
Over the last couple of days the lean hog market has been able to manage some damage control with help form a strong cash market. Thursday morning cash hog prices are higher but the lean hog future's contracts aren't able to let cattle contracts take all of the heat this time around. April lean hogs are down $1.97 at $63.17, June lean hogs are down $1.92 at $78.47 and July lean hogs are down $1.95 at $79.65.
The projected lean hog index for 2/26/2020 is down $0.05 at $56.36, and the actual index for 2/25/2020 is up $0.25 at $56.41. Hog prices are higher on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.15 with a weighted average of $50.17, ranging from $45.00 to $52.00 on 7,040 head with a five-day rolling average of $50.07. Pork cutouts total 194.84 loads with 174.04 loads of pork cuts and 20.80 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.94, $66.43.
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