GENERAL COMMENTS:
Another day and more position lost in the livestock complex as contracts are yet again painfully struck by the worry and uncertainty of the coronavirus. Hog prices closed higher again on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.89 with a weighted average of $49.60. March corn is up 1/4 cent per bushel and May soybean meal is up $1.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 879.44 points and NASDAQ is down 255.67 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Tumbling yet again, the live cattle market closes fully lower. April live cattle are down $2.30 at $112.95, June live cattle are down $1.57 at $105.80 and August live cattle are down $1.32 at $105.40. The slim support that the market had dabbled in at the noon hour Tuesday is long gone as traders are set in a quick-fire sell all/sell everything mindset. The worry of the coronavirus has now trickled into the cash market as light trade developed in parts of both the North and the South Tuesday afternoon. Northern dressed trade was at mostly $187, roughly $3 lower than last week's weighted average basis Nebraska. Southern live cattle trade was at $115, generally $5 lower than the prior week's weighted averages.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $0.40 ($207.47) and select down $2.47 ($199.90) with a movement of 141 loads (61.59 loads of choice, 37.10 loads of select, 0 loads of trim and 41.82 loads of ground beef). Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 124,000 head, 1,000 head more than a week ago and 6,000 head more than a year ago.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Lower. Given the vast disruption from the futures market and the consensus that the cash market will trade lower this week, there's little hope of cash prices being anything but $3.00 to $5.00 lower. However, the one bullish piece of silver lining that remains true is that packers are still aggressively harvesting cattle. They haven't feared away, closed the plants and drastically minimized kills. Packers most obviously hold the upper hand in the market right now, but given this time of uncertainty, at least plants are still processing cattle, which means that they will need to keep buying cattle.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The little support that was testing the feeder cattle market around the noon hour has long disappeared, and contracts closed fully lower. The nearby contracts are taking the biggest hit, which makes sense that nearby markets would suffer the most as deferred markets have more hope that some long-term understanding will be reached before they trade more actively. March feeders closed $3.05 lower at $132.97, April feeders closed $3.47 lower at $134.12 and May feeders closed $2.55 lower at $135.80.
At Miles City Livestock Auction in Miles City, Montana; compared to last week, feeder calves weighing 600 to 649 pounds sold steady to somewhat higher and all other weights were too lightly tested to accurately noted however steady to firm undertones were noticed. Feeder heifers weighing 500 to 649 pounds were mostly steady. Higher undertones were noticed on heifers weighing less than 500 pounds and lower undertones for heifers weighing over 650 pounds. Demand for grass cattle remains mostly good while demand for heavy weight cattle was weaker this time around. The CME feeder cattle index 2/24/2020: down $1.30, $139.72.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog market was able to test time and closed with some nearby contracts slightly higher. April lean hogs closed $0.05 higher at $64.67, June lean hogs closed $0.25 lower at $79.70 and July lean hog hogs closed $0.47 lower at $80.80. The lean hog market has been supported by a relatively active and energized cash market, which can make all the difference in situations like these. Pork cutouts total 400.35 loads with 375.90 loads of pork cuts and 24.44 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.35, $65.97. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 495,000 head, 1,000 head more than a week ago and 21,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 2/21/2020: up $0.04, $55.91.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady. It wouldn't be surprising to see the board sway back and forth with mild to extreme losses, but it seems like the lean hog cash market is fairly steady and packers continue to actively process hogs so they will need to keep their orders filled.
 |
| #completeherdhealth |
No comments:
Post a Comment