Cattle contracts are uneasy, not sure if higher or lower is the right call for Wednesday's market and are currently trading on both sides of steady. The lean hog contracts are surprisingly somewhat higher -- ranging from $0.02 to $0.87 gains in nearby contracts. Unfortunately, the market's focus isn't on the commodities being traded, but the external COVID-19 and its effects on the livestock industry. May corn is down 5 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $5.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 604.87 points and NASDAQ is down 160.74 points.
LIVE CATTLE
Live cattle contracts are split as contracts dance and trade on both sides of steady heading into the midweek mark. April live cattle are up $0.90 at $94.60, June live cattle are up $0.90 at $84.70 and August live cattle are down $0.12 at $89.42. We know that the Greely packing plant is shut down until April 24th but there have also been messages shared that other plants are having to back down to one shift a day as employees are staying home. It will be essential to watch how the market manages its current inventory as showlists are expected to grow. The countryside is still quite as trade has yet to truly develop.
Boxed beef cutouts are higher: choice up $2.80 ($229.47) and select up $7.10 ($22.87) with a movement of 57 loads (28.60 loads of choice, 11.14 loads of select, 7.75 loads of trim and 9.73 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE
As the noon hour quickly approaches, the feeder cattle contracts are split, trading higher in deferred contracts and lower in nearby contracts. April feeders are down $1.72 at $114.65, May feeders are down $0.35 at $114.50 and August feeders are down $0.75 at $125.65. With so much uncertainty looming over the country with COVID-19 and then the industry complications of packing plants, there is little motivation for the contracts to trade anything but lower.
LEAN HOGS
The lean hog complex has more positive energy heading into Wednesday's noon hour than the rest of the livestock contracts do. The April lean hog contract expires today which is pushing traders to invest and move positions into other contracts. June lean hogs are down $0.17 at $43.80, July lean hogs are down $0.17 at $50.80 and August lean hogs are up $0.32 at $55.30.
The projected two-day lean hog index for 4/14/2020 is down $0.96 at $46.53 and the actual index for 4/13/2020 is down $0.53 at $47.49. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.36 with a weighted average of $34.08, ranging from $32.00 to $35.00 on 4,459 head sold and a five-day rolling average of $36.37. Pork cutouts total 256.37 loads with 225.75 loads of pork cuts and 30.62 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.12, $52.95.
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