GENERAL COMMENTS
Amid dwindling futures trading volume as the Friday session draws closer to a three-day weekend, live cattle and feeder cattle contracts have experienced streaky shifts from gains to losses and back again, but nothing volatile enough yet to override the week's overall losses. Hog trade, meanwhile, remains directed upward, supported by higher carcass values and continued export expectations.
December corn is up 3 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $4.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 327.04 points and NASDAQ is down 301.05 points.
LIVE CATTLE
Results from this week's cash cattle trade, which has not so far developed further during Friday, suggest the supply and demand dynamics remain unchanged between packers and feeders: both are seeing increasing volumes, but the persistent backlog of live animals continues to press the advantage into the hands of the packers. Thursday's prices may be all we see this week: $102 to $103 live in the South and $162 to $163 dressed in the North, or $2 to $4 lower across the board when compared to last week's weighted averages. This adds confirmation to the lower trend in the futures trading, where contracts have dipped 5 percent from the highs seen two weeks ago. October live cattle contracts are temporarily up $0.15 at $104.08.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.72 ($226.52) and select down $2.20 ($210.30) with a movement of 68 loads (38.7 loads of choice, 5.53 loads of select, 6.27 loads of trim and 16.92 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE
Feeder cattle contracts continue to experience more consistently bearish trade during an otherwise quiet and mixed trading session, with the September contract down $0.43 to $137.18 at midday. Confidence in the calf crop supply can be seen farther out into the fall, as well, with the November contract down $0.55 at $138.83. Rumblings about potential frost next week in the Northern Plains are also bearish to feeder cattle prospects as feed grain prices jump higher to incorporate that risk.
LEAN HOGS
The front-month October lean hog contract hasn't been able to hold on to its impressive intraday high of $60.95, but the trading screen remains green across the board nevertheless as the session quiets toward the close. December lean hogs are up $0.08 at $58.05 and February lean hogs are up $0.13 at $62.95.
The projected lean hog index for 9/3/2020 is up $0.51 at $58.64, and the actual index for 9/2/2020 is up $0.62 at $58.13. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.29 with a weighted average of $45.07, ranging from $40.00 to $45.51 on 3,533 head and a five-day rolling average of $44.47. Pork cutouts total 215.24 loads with 202.86 loads of pork cuts and 12.38 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.34, $81.53.
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