The new week brings a sense of change and potential prosperity as all three livestock contracts trade higher into the noon hour. Live cattle and feeder cattle contracts take the lead as the lean hog market teeters on whether to trade higher or lower. May corn is up 5 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $3.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 647.73 points and NASDAQ is up 193.20 points.
LIVE CATTLE
Live cattle contracts trade fully higher into the noon hour which is giving the market a jolt of positive energy that has been long needed. April live cattle are up $1.15 at $108.72, June live cattle are up $1.42 at $102.62 and August live cattle are up $1.07 at $103.35. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Nebraska/Colorado, somewhat lower in Texas, and lower in Kansas. Asking prices have yet to surface this week but if the board is able to push the week mostly higher, cash cattle could stand to trade slightly higher. The market's ability to test higher prices will largely depend on the news surrounding the coronavirus, the futures support and how hungry packers are for cattle.
Formula totals for last week were mixed, higher in Kansas and Texas, but lower in Nebraska: Kansas 79,817(up 6,361), Nebraska 51,476(down 2,388), Texas 83,006(up 1,898). Total trade volume was higher in Nebraska, near steady in Texas, and somewhat lower in Kansas: Kansas 92,719(down 321), Nebraska 81,612(up 4,084), Texas 88,593(up 60.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.29 ($206.59) and select up $0.96 ($199.87) with a movement of 37 loads (26.28 loads of choice, 4.59 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 5.83 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE
Feeder cattle contracts have led the surge higher Monday morning and although they have backed off from their earlier prices, contracts are still trading higher into the noon hour. March feeders are up $1.05 at $132.32, April feeders are up $0.80 at $133.50 and May feeders are up $1.10 at $134.62. The market's panic and sellout last week was completely fueled by the coronavirus scare, which not only affected the futures market but also the cash markets. If the board is able to recover some of last week's losses this week, hopefully sale barns will be able to drive prices higher on feeders as well.
LEAN HOGS
The lean hog market trades the most cautiously into the noon hour and still is unsure how nearby contracts should trade. At the market's open, contracts were fully higher, but as the day progressed some nearby contracts weakened while deferred contracts still trade positively. April lean hogs are down $0.02 at $62.25, June lean hogs are down $0.40 at $0.40 at $76.82 and July lean hogs are down $0.40 at $77.90. Some of the market's nearby weakness is most likely coming from the slightly lower cash trade Monday morning.
The two day projected lean hog index for 2/28/2020 is down $0.08 at $56.25, and the actual for 2/27/2020 is down $0.03 at $56.33. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.11 with a weighted average of $50.50, ranging from $45.00 to $50.76 on 3,931 head sold and five-day rolling average of $50.18. Pork cutouts total 123.37 loads with 110.77 loads of pork cuts and 12.60 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.81, $65.93.
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