GENERAL COMMENTS:
All three livestock markets closed higher with solid support bolster throughout Tuesday's realm.
This week has thus far presented itself to be a mixed bag -- one day sharply lower and the next moderately higher. Seeing that the week has only began makes it hard to jump on board and think that the rest of the week will be fully higher when there is still a lot of time for trade to switch gears between now and Friday. Hog prices are higher on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $1.10 with a weighted average of $52.34. May corn is up 4 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $1.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1,167.14 points and NASDAQ is up 393.57 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle contracts kept with their same pace throughout the day, trading steadily higher but letting the feeder cattle market lead the surge. At this point the market could do one of two things: 1) have established a bottom and trend higher or 2) still not have fully absorbed the global impact of the virus and continue to fluctuate higher and lower. From a cattle perspective, this couldn't come at a worse time as cattlemen are accustomed to the tightening fed cattle supplies in the North driving prices higher and ultimately giving the market more leverage heading into the summer months. But given the fact that cash cattle prices continue to trend lower instead of higher, cattlemen are worried about this upcoming summer.
April live cattle are up $2.60 at $105.45, June live cattle are up $2.42 at $99.52 and August live cattle are up $1.60 at $99.67. Cash cattle trade was at a standstill throughout Tuesday and trade isn't expected to break loose until later sometime this week.
Boxed beef cutouts closed lower: choice down $0.27 ($207.09) and select down $3.61 ($198.71) with a movement of 138 loads (74.94 loads of choice, 27.01 loads of select, 23.06 loads of trim and 12.78 loads of ground beef). Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 123,000 head, 1,000 head less than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady with the week's prices. Seeing that cattle have already sold this week will make it tough for prices to jump higher.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle contracts closed Tuesday afternoon with the same strength and prosperity that the market opened with. Contracts gained anywhere from $1.55 to $3.10 and lead the livestock complex higher in Tuesday's surge. March feeders closed $1.55 higher at $127.75, April feeders closed $2.40 higher at $127.95 and May feeders closed $3.10 higher at $129.75.
At OKC West Livestock Auction in El Reno, Oklahoma, compared to last week, steer and heifer calves traded $4.00 to $8.00 lower. Demand was moderate and quality was attractive, but the losses on the board Monday sent both the market and folk's moral tumbling lower. To some that may seem like a baffling thought because Tuesday's market was significantly higher; this simply comes to show that the long-lasting side effects of a down market can stick around longer than depressed prices. The CME feeder cattle index 3/9/2020: not available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
Hand in hand, the futures market and cash hog market stride to higher prices in Tuesday's time. Market participants are thankful to have had a day of higher prices after a tumultuous last couple of weeks, but the movement strengthens even more when both the cash market and futures market can close higher in a sector. April lean hogs closed $2.00 higher at $65.00, June live cattle closed $1.95 higher at $79.30 and July live cattle closed $1.70 higher at $80.00. Pork cutouts total 397.87 loads with 370.72 loads of pork cuts and 27.15 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.01, $67.96. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 498,000 head - 3,000 head more than a week ago and 20,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 3/6/2020: up $0.11 at $57.09.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Slightly higher. If the futures market has another positive day, the cash hog market shouldn't have any problem pushing prices slightly higher. Given that packers are clipping through inventory at a rigorous rate, their buying interest will have to stay plugged into the market.
 |
| #completecalfcare |
No comments:
Post a Comment