GENERAL COMMENTS:
Tuesday ended up being a breath of fresh air compared to Monday's markets. Livestock contracts were able to close mostly higher except for a little push back in nearby lean hog contracts. Hog prices closed lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.95 with a weighted average of $35.60. May corn is down 5 1/2 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $1.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 558.99 points and NASDAQ is up 323.32 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle contracts kept their momentum throughout the day and closed $1.17 to $2.70 higher. April live cattle closed $2.70 higher at $93.70, June live cattle closed $2.42 higher at $83.80 and August live cattle closed $1.77 higher at $89.52. The countryside was quiet again with no bids or asking prices surfacing and the general consensus being that cash trade will wait until the later part of the week. Wednesday's Fed Cattle Exchange was also moved to Friday. The day's big announcement was from Monday afternoon was confirmed Tuesday that the packing plant in Greely, Colorado (JBS), will suspend beef processing operations until at least April 24. Knowing that the Greely plant is a big hub for fed cattle in the northern tier of the country, and when at full capacity can process around 5,400 head of cattle a day, puts a big strain on the market and creates a headache for feedlot managers who now have to reroute where their readily available cattle will go.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $0.81 ($226.67) and select up $4.37 with a movement of 143 loads (87.37 loads of choice, 25.56 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 30.09 loads of ground beef). Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 99,000 head, 7,000 head less than last week and 24,000 head less than a year ago.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady to lower. When cattle trades this week, it will most likely be for lower prices as the market implications from the closing packing plants is vast.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle contracts closed $0.40 to $2.80 higher with most of the support being for deferred contracts. May feeders closed $0.40 higher at $114.85, August feeders closed $1.97 higher at $126.35 and September feeders closed $2.50 higher at $127.37. Sale barn runs were limited with most of the reports showing less than 500 head marketed and some barns canceling sales from a lack of seller interest. The CME feeder cattle index 4/13/2020: not available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog market was the only livestock contract to close with some hesitation in nearby contracts. June lean hogs closed $0.97 lower at $43.95, July lean hogs closed $0.05 lower at $50.97 and August lean hogs closed $0.40 higher at $54.97. Despite knowing all the chaos in the market about various packing plants shutting down, it was impressive to see Tuesday's movement of pork cuts -- pushing product into the hands of consumers is vital right now more than ever. Pork cutouts totaled 519.97 loads with 468.02 loads of pork cuts and 51.95 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.20, $53.07. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 450,000 head, 32,000 head less than a week ago and 25,000 head less than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 4/10/2020: down $1.38, $48.02.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: $1.00 to $2.00 lower. The fact remains that until the market is secured with some certainty that plants are reopening, consumers are able to easily buy the products they want and that more havoc isn't going to unravel, the market is going to remain weaker.
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