It was a stellar day for the lean hog market as the cash market saw an uptick in price and volume, cutout demand carried through closing and nearby contracts kept trading higher. However, for the cattle market, more prosperous weeks have been had. Hog prices closed higher on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.65 with a weighted average of $63.63 on 10,287. December corn is up 7 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $8.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 19.80 points and NASDAQ is down 54.86 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Thursday's live cattle market was depressing as the board trended lower throughout the day and the cash cattle market sold a light volume of cattle in the North with prices steady with Wednesday's regression. October live cattle closed $0.60 lower at $107.77, December live cattle closed $0.72 lower at $109.55 and February live cattle closed $0.80 lower at $112.42. Thursday's cash cattle trade was slim and mostly steady with Wednesday's action. There were some cattle that sold in the North for mostly $168, but otherwise the countryside was idle. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 120,000 head, 3,000 head more than a week ago and 9,000 head more than a year ago. Thursday's boxed beef movement demands attention as the day successfully moved 236 loads. With boxed beef prices looking to make a seasonal low, out-front buying saw an opportunity to secure some supply at lower prices.
Thursday's actual slaughter data shared mixed news as the week's slaughter was ginormous, but carcass weights are still elevated. For the week ending Oct. 3, slaughter totaled 663,777 head, which is the largest kill since the last week in June. Steer carcass weights were unchanged from the previous week at 924 pounds, but heifer carcass weights jumped 5 pounds to 843 pounds.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $0.66 ($210.48) and select down $2.77 ($196.50) with a movement of 236 loads (139.03 loads of choice, 59.73 loads of select, 10.31 loads of trim and 26.78 loads of ground beef).
FRIDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady. As the week's boxed beef prices keep scaling lower, packers are going to be harder to negotiate with. Feeders will be pressured to sell cattle for prices already established earlier this week, but more trade is expected to develop throughout Friday.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Even with the corn market closing $0.05 to $0.07 stronger in nearby contracts, the feeder cattle market kept its nearby contracts elevated through closing but was unable to rally the rest of the complex. October feeder cattle closed $0.55 higher at $138.92, November feeder cattle closed $0.15 higher at $136.47 and January feeder cattle closed $1.22 lower at $132.100. In respect to the large amount of calves hitting the scales this week and next, hopes are for the market's support to carry into Friday's trade and even the weekend. At La Junta livestock Commission in La Junta, Colorado, compared to a week ago, steer calves under 600 pounds sold $5.00 to $8.00 lower with the exception of steers weighing 500 to 550 pounds, which sold steady and steers weighing 600 to 700 pounds sold $2.00 to $3.00 lower. Heifer calves under 600 pounds sold $3.00 to $5.00 lower while heifers over 600 pounds sold mostly steady. Yearling feeder steers over 700 pounds sold $2.00 lower and yearling heifers of the same weight sold mostly steady. Slaughter bulls and cows sold $2.00 to $3.00 higher. The CME feeder cattle index for Oct. 14: down $0.01, $140.91.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog market's support only grew Thursday as the afternoon progressed into the day's closing, as cutout values closed nearly $5.00 higher and the cash market moved a considerable volume of hogs. December lean hogs closed $1.45 higher at $69.87, February lean hogs closed $0.32 higher at $71.42 and April lean hogs closed $0.27 lower at $74.45. Waiting patiently to see Friday's export report, the market is hopeful for another monstrous report showing strong export demand. Pork cutouts total 323.79 loads with 288.69 loads of pork cuts and 35.10 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $4.85, $101.42. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 490,000 head, 1,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head less than a year ago. The CME lean hog index for Oct. 13: up $0.03, $78.24.
Thursday's actual slaughter data shared another strong slaughter report but unfortunately carcass weights are on the rise. For the week ending Oct. 3, slaughter totaled 2,612,297 head. Actual live weights increased by 1 pound to 288 pounds on average and dressed carcass weights averaged 215 pounds, up 2 pounds.
FRIDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady to slightly higher. If Friday's export report can yield a prosperous finding, the market could rally and see steady to slightly higher cash hog trade.
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