GENERAL COMMENTS:
Early in the day the live cattle contracts were willing and ready to trade higher, but as time progressed and nearby feeder cattle contracts dropped significantly, lean hogs were the only market able to close higher. Hog prices closed higher on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.05 with a weighted average of $37.68 on 6,203 head. December corn is up 6 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $6.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 86.11 points and NASDAQ is up 110.42 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle contracts were optimistic about the day before the noon hour, but as day concluded, the support fell. August live cattle closed $0.70 lower at $106.90, October live cattle closed $0.35 lower at $109.87 and December live cattle closed $0.25 lower at $112.57. Monday was as quiet as the market could possibly be for cash cattle trade, as bids and asking prices have yet to surface and consequently no cattle have traded yet this week. Given that the market was so quiet Monday, packers could wait until after the Fed Cattle Exchange on Wednesday to get serious about buying since they purchased a huge volume of cattle last week -- 121,514 head. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 117,000 head, 4,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $3.02 ($217.26) and select up $2.65 ($201.94) with a movement of 133 loads (64.49 loads of choice, 21.18 loads of select, 15.40 loads of trim and 31.76 loads of ground beef).
TUESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: $1.00 to $2.00 higher. Packers aren't needing cattle bad enough to push the market $4.00 to $5.00 higher like feeders were able to last week, but as boxed beef prices keep scaling higher and, with Labor Day around the corner, packers will most likely be timely about their kill schedule and want to move cattle quickly as demand is present.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle market was lower at midday in nearby contracts, but as the afternoon progressed the pressure grew, and the market closed significantly lower. August feeders are down $1.20 at $142.72, September feeders closed $2.17 lower at $144.40 and October feeders closed $2.22 lower at $145.20. The feeder cattle market has a tough hand to play as corn prices are creeping higher and there's uncertainty pertaining to Iowa's corn crop. To go along with the uncertainty, feeder cattle charts are bowing down to resistance and a topping formation is becoming more evident. But despite the reason to trade lower, buyers are still eagerly buying cattle and moving the cash market higher throughout the countryside. This week will be a good test for the market's real attitude as both Superior Livestock Auction and Western Video Market are having big feeder cattle specials. At Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, compared to last week, feeder steers sold $1.00 to $3.00 higher and feeder heifers steady. The market saw the biggest price jump in steers and heifers though that are suitable for grazing as they traded as much as $7.00 to $9.00 in the early rounds. The CME feeder cattle index 8/14/2020: down $0.05, $142.20.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean hog contracts took the momentum that the feeder cattle complex wasn't able to harness and drove the market higher, rallying off last week's positive close. October lean hogs closed $0.50 higher at $53.52, December lean hogs closed $0.32 higher at $54.95 and February lean hogs closed $0.20 higher at $62.10. The market's true vigor will be tested at the $55.00 resistance plane that hog prices weren't able to support back in June. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 480,000 head, 23,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago. Friday's hog slaughter was revised to 466,000 head and Saturday's week to date was revised to 2,559,000 head. Pork cutouts total 294.03 loads with 266.23 loads of pork cuts and 27.80 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.38, $74.55. The CME lean hog index 8/13/2020: $0.36, $53.84.
TUESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady to lower. Readily available hogs are easy to come by and, with a slightly weaker cutout value, the market will most likely be steady to slightly lower.
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