GENERAL COMMENTS:
Hog prices took the brunt of Monday's arrival and cattle contracts were able to skate mixed in live cattle contracts and only slightly lower in feeder cattle contracts. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.77 with a weighted average of $58.07. May corn is down 4 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $2.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 690.70 points and NASDAQ is up 271.77 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Monday's board comes as a mixed signal. Yes, it's always positive when the contracts close higher, but given that the spot April contract is still a long ways from the cash market, and is still trading lower, doesn't leave warm and fuzzy feelings in the marketplace. April live cattle closed $1.75 lower at $99.20, June live cattle closed $0.35 lower at $89.07 and August live cattle closed $0.17 higher at $90.62. Cash cattle trade was quiet as feeders haven't listed their asking prices yet and packers aren't overly aggressive as they see the board trade lower. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas, but lower in Kansas and Nebraska/Colorado.
Boxed beef cutouts are lower: choice down $1.87 ($250.97) and select down $4.24 ($238.14) with a movement of 151 loads (86.36 loads of choice, 18.13 loads of select, 29.19 loads of trim and 16.94 loads of ground beef). Monday's slaughter is estimated at 120,000 head, 4,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago.
TUESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Lower. Packers paid more than what they would have liked to last week, and seeing their interest in slaughter cows and bulls leads one to think that they are sitting flush on inventory. At Blue Grass Stockyards in Stanford, Kentucky, slaughter bulls and cows were $4.00 to $6.00 lower, and in Worthing, South Dakota, slaughter cows were $10.0 to $13.00 lower.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle contracts closed lower, but thankfully only on a slightly lower note. April feeder cattle closed $0.55 lower at $120.05, May feeder cattle closed $0.02 lower at $120.90 and August feeder cattle closed $0.17 lower at $126.92. At Joplin Regional Stockyards, 7,000 head of feeder cattle are selling, and amid the mid-sale report steer and heifer calves are selling $3.00 to $6.00 lower, and yearlings are steady to $6.00 lower. Given that there is still an abundance of uncertainty in the marketplace and that Monday's board closed lower, it isn't surprising that feeder cattle prices are lower. However, on the bright side, producers are marketing more cattle this week as sale barns note larger runs and load lots available, making it easier for buyers to put together pens of cattle. The CME feeder cattle index 3/27/2020: up $2.13, $132.77.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean hog contracts took the biggest losses Monday as several nearby contracts closed limit lower and deferred contracts weren't far from it either. April lean hogs closed $4.50 lower at $53.95, June lean hogs closed $4.47 lower at $59.77 and July lean hogs closed $3.72 lower at $63.07. The lean hog complex struggles as limit losses are becoming more and more of the market's norm. in the June 2020 contract last Thursday closed $3.00 lower, last Friday closed $4.50 lower and Monday closed just shy of limit lower again at $4.47 lower. Pork cutouts totaled 387.98 loads with 346.98 loads of pork cuts and 41.00 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $3.08, $70.71. Monday's harvest is estimated at 491,000 head, 6,000 head less than a week ago and 16,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 3/26/2020: up $0.29, $66.46.
TUESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Lower. Seeing that the complex is struggling to keep any support within the marketplace doesn't set cash trade up for higher trading on Tuesday.
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