Monday doesn't seem to be getting any brighter as the day progresses into the noon hour. Livestock contracts are still feeling extreme pressure to trade lower and multiple contracts tip toward new contract lows. May corn is down 3 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $5.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1,462.64 points and NASDAQ is down 399.54 points.
LIVE CATTLE
Live cattle contracts haven't been able to escape Monday's grief, but have rather instead gotten caught right in the middle of the day's havoc. Solidly throughout the entire live cattle complex contracts trade anywhere from $1.82 lower to $2.92 lower. April live cattle are down $2.72 at $103.02, June live cattle are down $2.50 at $97.52 and August live cattle are down $2.82 at $98.25.
Historically at this time cash cattle prices have looked at rallying to a spring high before the large supply of readily available fed cattle pushes the market lower. Seeing that the June and August live cattle contracts have dipped below $100 makes the hair on the back of feeder's necks stand up. Given that the market is having an unusually tough Monday, cash cattle trade has yet to surface and the country remains extremely quiet. New showlists for the week appear to be mixed, lower in the South, but somewhat higher in Nebraska/Colorado.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.23 ($207.24) and select down $0.26 ($202.31) with a movement of 48 loads (28.31 loads of choice, 6.09 loads of select, 6.44 loads of trim and 6.82 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE
Feeder cattle contracts pressure support planes of $126.00 in the March contract and if the day leads prices below that level, new contract lows will be set. March feeders are down $3.50 at $127.20, April feeders are down $4.35 at $125.70 and May feeders are down $4.25 at $126.90. Monday has sent feeder cattle contracts plummeting lower ranging anywhere from $3.40 lower to $4.32 lower.
LEAN HOGS
The lean hog market has been able to mostly avoid the double- and triple-digit losses being endured by the feeder cattle and live cattle contracts. April lean hogs are down $2.70 at $63.22, June lean hogs are down $1.75 at $78.00 and July lean hogs are down $1.82 at $79.12. Given that the beginning of the week has spared no mercy, one would hope that the market's bottom would soon be established.
The two-day lean hog index for 3/6/2020 is up $0.11 at $57.09, and the actual index for 3/5/2020 is up $0.19 at $56.98. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.93 with a weighted average of $50.57, ranging from $45.00 to $50.76 on 4,908 head sold and five-day rolling average of $50.48. Pork cutouts total 145.20 loads with 130.44 loads of pork cuts and 14.77 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.31, $68.17.
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