GENERAL COMMENTS:
The market continues to trade lower and needs some surge of support and sustainable energy to carry the market out of the its current downward spiral. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.02 with a weighted average of $49.92. March corn is down 2 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is down $0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.48 points and NASDAQ is up 10.55 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It's all about the basis right now. It never feels' good to sell cattle for lower, especially in the first quarter, but when feeders can sell fats and make a profit -- and be able to buy more feeders to fill their pens -- it makes sense why trade is happening the way it is. When you can make money, you take it. Some light live trade developed in parts of Colorado before the noon hour at $120, $1 lower than last week's trade in that area. A few scattered deals at $119 to $120 have also been reported in Nebraska ($119 in the West and $120 in the East). Some southern asking prices have been noted around $122 to $123 and the rest of cattle country remains quiet in the meantime. The board took a bit of a hard turn after the noon hour with a large portion of the live cattle contracts seeing losses greater than $1.00. February live cattle are down $1.22 at $119.07, April live cattle are down $1.50 at $117.17 and June live cattle sold $1.32 lower at $109.12.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $1.08 ($207.83) and select up $0.83 ($204.53) with a movement of 112 loads (46.10 loads of choice, 19.98 loads of select, 16.71 loads of trim and 29.53 loads of ground beef). Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 122,000 head, steady with last week and 1,000 head more than a year ago.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady with the week's trend. With cutout prices expected to make the low either this week or next, and the board continuously weakening, its going to be hard to push prices much better than what they are.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle contracts fell lower through closing but were able to stay above the $134.60 support plane. March feeders closed $1.02 lower at $134.67, April feeders closed $0.80 lower at $136.72 and May feeders closed $0.97 lower at $138.47. Choppy sideways trading seems to be the trend as prices bounce higher and lower. That will most likely continue until some firmness and direction is found in the live cattle market.
On Monday, at Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri, 4,817 head of feeders sold in comparison to last week steers and heifers under 600 pounds sold steady to $5.00 higher, 600 to 700 pound steers sold unevenly steady, 600 to 700 pound heifers sold steady to $2.00 higher, steers and heifers over 700 pounds sold $2.00 to $3.00 lower. Cattlemen are starting to fight mud on cattle and in pens making it difficult for feeding and calving. The CME feeder cattle index for 2/10/2020: up $0.26, $140.67.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean hog prices fell lower, keeping inline with the rest of the complex. February lean hogs fell $0.07 to $56.12, April lean hogs fell $0.85 to $64.22 and May lean hogs fell $0.60 to $73.80. Cash prices fell ever so slightly Tuesday afternoon (down $0.02), but given the slow progression the cash market has been making, a negative two cent slide is more of a rest than a decline. Pork cutouts totaled 357.53 loads with 308.15 loads of pork cuts and 49.38 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.37, $63.65. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 496,000 head - steady with a week ago and 48,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index for 2/7/2020: down $1.11, $58.46.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady. It's really hard to justify prices going much higher with the board losing position and the e livestock complex needing a pick-me-up to rally prices into a higher bracket.
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