GENERAL COMMENTS:
Thursday wasn't a great day for the livestock contracts as all three markets veered lower and any support that could have helped save some positioning surely didn't reveal itself before the day's close. Hog prices closed lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.81 with a weighted average of $55.88 on 6,906 head. March corn is up 2 3/4 cents per bushel and January soybean meal is up $4.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 85.73 points and NASDAQ is up 27.81 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle market is starting to feel the pressure of weakening boxed beef prices and closed fully lower Thursday afternoon. December live cattle closed $1.10 lower at $109.60, February live cattle closed $1.35 lower at $112.57 and April live cattle closed $0.87 lower at $116.30. There's stout resistance at $116 and short-term resistance at $114 for the spot live cattle contract. Feedlots have their sight set on $2.00 to $3.00 higher this week, but as boxed beef prices started to scale lower, packers are adamant about not seeing this week's market creep higher. There was another round of light trade that developed in the North from $172 to $174 -- steady with the week's trend -- but in the South, live cattle sold for $109 to $110, which is steady to $1.00 lower than the rest of the week's trade.
Beef net sales of 13,700 mt reported for 2020 were down noticeably from the previous week and down 16% from the prior four-week average. The three primary increases were for Japan (7,200 mt, including decreases of 500 mt), South Korea (3,800 mt, including decreases of 400 mt) and Mexico (1,000 mt, including decreases of 100 mt).
Thursday's actual slaughter data shared positive news for cattle carcass weights and large slaughter levels! For the week ending Nov. 21, slaughter totaled a substantial 666,192 head. Steers averaged 923 pounds (down 7 pounds from the previous week) and heifers averaged 847 pounds (up 1 more from the previous week).
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $1.70 ($239.19) and select down $3.02 ($219.93) with a movement of 189 loads (131.33 loads of choice, 14.93 loads of select, 20.07 loads of trim and 22.42 loads of ground beef).
FRIDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady. Seeing that there's been a sizeable movement already this week, Friday's trade will most likely be clean-up and trade within the week's pre-established ranges.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle market unfortunately continued to sink as the day progressed and closed fully lower. January feeders closed $2.00 lower at $139.80, March feeders closed $1.65 lower at $139.32 and April feeders closed $1.40 lower at $140.70. The resistance levels that the market was dancing around grew burdensome and sent the market trailing lower. At Winter Livestock in Pratt, Kansas, compared to two weeks ago, feeder steers weighing 375 pounds to 900 pounds sold $2.00 to $3.00 lower. Steers weighing 900 pounds to 1,000 pounds sold $2.00 higher. Feeder heifers weighing 375 pounds to 900 pounds sold $2.00 to $5.00 higher on light receipts. The CME feeder cattle index for Dec. 2: down $0.43, $139.44.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog market kept with its downward trend and closed lower in nearby contracts. December lean hogs closed $0.32 lower at $66.02, February lean hogs closed $0.95 lower at $66.92 and April lean hogs closed $0.40 lower at $70.47. The market's support simply cannot find a positive sector to stand on as the board continues to weaken. The cash market is trading continuously lower and pork cutout prices dipped lower again Thursday afternoon. Pork cutouts total 385.91 loads with 343.02 loads of pork cuts and 42.90 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $3.41, $76.45. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 492,000 head -- incomparable with a week ago due to Thanksgiving, but 5,000 head less than a year ago. Wednesday's hog slaughter was revised to 490,000 head. The CME lean hog index for Dec. 1: up $0.04, $66.71.
Pork net sales of 31,300 mt reported for 2020 were up 66% from the previous week, but down 6% from the prior four-week average. The three primary increases were Mexico (12,900 mt, including decreases of 1,000 mt), China (7,400 mt, including decreases of 1,300 mt) and Japan (4,200 mt, including decreases of 300 mt).
Thursday's actual slaughter data shared another big slaughter for the hog industry. For the week ending Nov. 21, slaughter totaled 2,726,669 head and weights were unchanged. Live weights averaged 294 pounds and dressed weights averaged 219 pounds.
FRIDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Lower. Unfortunately for producers' sake, the market is mostly likely to keep with its downward trend as bullish fundamental and technical indicators simply aren't coming to fruition.
 |
| #completecalfcare |
No comments:
Post a Comment