GENERAL COMMENTS:
Livestock futures are seeing mixed support as the cattle contracts veer lower but the lean hog contracts continue to add to their upward position. Meanwhile, the cash cattle market has seen some developments with a light trade reported in the South at $114 and bids of $113 surfacing in the North. March corn is up 1 1/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $1.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 84.26 points and NASDAQ is up 74.80 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Nearby live cattle futures have bounced around Friday morning, trying to keep at least spot February and April trading higher while the rest of the contracts scale lower. If it wasn't for stronger cash cattle trade developing and higher midday boxed beef prices, the market would be strongly encouraged to trade lower. But, thankfully, the stars are aligning for feedlots and the nearby contracts. February live cattle are up $0.20 at $116.65, April live cattle are up $0.40 at $124.15 and June live cattle are down $0.05 at $120.15. So far there has been a light cash trade in the South at $114, $1.00 higher than last week. Some feedlots are sticking to their guns and want their full asking price of $115 to $116 in the South and $182 to $185 in the North. There was some trade in the North Thursday afternoon, but as of Friday morning the market's only new bids in the North are live at $113.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $0.26 ($234.51) and select up $1.03 ($221.47) with a movement of 52 loads (26.95 loads of choice, 8.86 loads of select, 11.43 loads of trim and 4.55 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle and corn futures continue to play cat and mouse; if one is higher, the other is doggishly lower. The corn contracts are posting mild gains but it is enough to send the feeder cattle contracts lower as the nearby corn contracts are trading at $5.38 to $5.50 per bushel -- which creates lofty feed costs. March feeders are down $0.92 at $138.57, April feeders are down $0.47 at $142.20 and May feeders are down $0.47 at $144.60.
LEAN HOGS:
It's been a stellar week for the lean hog contracts as the market has seen ample support from both the board and the fundamental drivers. February lean hogs are up $0.32 at $71.35, April lean hogs are up $1.17 at $80.47 and June lean hogs are up $0.90 at $89.65. Thursday's export report helped comfort packers as demand continues to be plentiful for pork cuts. The cash market is slightly lower, but given the stout advancements the market saw earlier in the week, lower week-ending prices aren't that surprising.
The projected two-day lean hog index for 2/4/2021 is up $0.19 at $69.28, and the actual index for 2/3/2021 is down $0.08 at $69.09. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.23 with a weighted average of $60.34, ranging from $51.00 to $66.00 on 4,083 head and a five-day rolling average of $58.76. Pork cutouts total 184.40 loads with 166.85 loads of pork cuts and 17.55 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.14, $85.69.
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