GENERAL COMMENTS:
Livestock futures are keeping to their own pace and trajectory as the lean hog and live cattle contracts are met with ample support, while feeder cattle contracts dip lower from the pressure building in the rallying corn market. The cash cattle market is quiet and business is likely to follow its recent trend of waiting to develop until the latter half of the week. March corn is up 15 1/2 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $7.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 149.08 points and NASDAQ is up 78.84 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The cattle market usually fares well through a storm and the old saying continues to ring true so far this week. Even though showlists are mostly higher, the live cattle contracts are rallying into Monday afternoon trade eager for the week ahead. February live cattle are up $0.27 at $117.00, April live cattle are up $0.80 at $124.57 and June live cattle are up $0.67 at $120.65. Pinpointing what the cash cattle market will do this week is tricky. Feedlots could want to get some cattle moved as corn prices continue to scale higher. But, they could want to keep this market's progression underway and be willing to weather this storm in order to make packers pay even higher prices. New showlists appear to be mixed -- higher in Texas, Nebraska, Colorado; lower in Kansas.
Last week's cash cattle movement was powerful and amplifies the fact that packers need cattle! Last week's total movement of negotiated cash cattle totaled 102,508 head. Of that 74,417 head are scheduled for delivery in the next two weeks while the remaining 28,091 are scheduled for delivery in the following 15 to 30 days.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.36 ($235.94) and select down $0.97 ($219.82) with a movement of 56 loads (21.99 loads of choice, 11.65 loads of select, 11.41 loads of trim and 10.49 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeders were well aware the corn market could trade higher and add pressure to feeder cattle contracts, but the significant jump of $0.12 to $0.15 higher in the nearby corn contracts wasn't excepted. March feeders are down $0.67 at $137.60, April feeders are down $0.47 at $141.72 and May feeders are down $0.92 at $143.85. Early this week sale barns could see lighter runs thanks to the large snow accumulation and slick roads. With corn prices continuing to scale higher, feeders will most likely be met with minimal demand this upcoming week while grass calves seem more appealing to buyers.
LEAN HOGS :
Lean hog contracts are met with ample support again Monday morning after a successful last week. February lean hogs are up $0.85 at $71.82, April lean hogs are up $0.22 at $80.52 and June lean hogs are up $0.32 at $89.87. Last week's slaughter was rather impressive, estimated at 2,691,000 head, which is up 33,000 head from the week before. Packers are loving this marketplace as they have multiple avenues to market the product as they have stellar export demand, great domestic consumer demand and can always fall back on restocking their coolers.
The projected lean hog index for 2/5/2021 is up $1.13 at $70.41, and the actual index for 2/4/2021 is up $0.19 at $69.28. Hog prices are higher on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.30 with a weighted average of $60.64, ranging from $55.00 to $62.00 on 2,976 head and a five-day rolling average of $50.92. Pork cutouts total 160.08 loads with 142.48 loads of pork cuts and 17.60 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.65, $85.83.
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