GENERAL COMMENTS:
After Monday's ambitious trade throughout the corn complex, feeder cattle futures were left to trade doggishly lower as cost of gains become even more burdensome. Thankfully, Tuesday's market has offered some relief as corn is now lower. The live cattle and lean hog contracts are enjoying similar support, though neither are seeing support quite as strong as what's developing in the feeder cattle arena. April live cattle are up $1.33 at $125.275, March feeder cattle are up $2.28 at $139.725, April lean hogs are down $0.13 at $80.525, March corn is down 12 3/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is down $2.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 8.34 points and NASDAQ is up 36.48 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Feedlots are liking the board's positive reaction to Tuesday's marketplace as they hope to move the cash market higher again this week. February live cattle are up $1.15 at $117.75, April live cattle are up $0.65 at $124.65 and June live cattle are up $0.25 at $120.25. Snowstorms can have a positive effect on the live cattle market and it's looking like Tuesday's market is agreeing with that old belief. The cash cattle market is still quiet without bids. Asking prices in the South are marked at $116 to $117 and Northern feedlots have their cattle priced at $185-plus. Trade is expected to develop later in the week, but by this afternoon we will have a better understanding of packers' need for cattle with the prices from the Texas Cash Pool.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.91 ($235.29) and select up $0.33 ($220.94) with a movement of 79 loads (33.84 loads of choice, 9.84 loads of select, 3.83 loads of trim and 31.97 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle futures are thankful to be trading higher again as the corn market dips 10 cents lower in the nearby contracts. Unfortunately, the back and forth behavior between the two markets is most likely going to continue until the corn market develops some sort of a top, and until strong feeder demand is sought with the spring-run. March feeders are up $1.60 at $139.05, April feeders are up $1.80 at $143.27 and May feeders are up $1.10 at $144.67.
LEAN HOGS:
Earlier in the day the lean hog complex was hesitant to trade higher as traders evaluated charts and wondered how much more upside was achievable. But as the day draws closer and closer to the noon hour, support and confidence are redeveloping throughout the complex and the contracts are now higher again. February lean hogs are up $0.15 at $72.32, April lean hogs are up $0.10 at $80.75 and June lean hogs are down $0.05 at $90.02. Tuesday's WASDE report shared favorable news to the pork industry as production levels are expected to remain elevated throughout the year, meeting stout pork demand.
The projected two-day lean hog index for 2/8/2021 is up $0.66 at $71.07, and the actual index for 2/5/2021 is up $1.13 at $70.41. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report down $0.85 with a weighted average of $59.79, ranging from $51.00 to $60.92 on 3,280 head with a five-day rolling average of $59.90. Pork cutouts total 227.62 loads with 214.74 loads of pork cuts and 12.87 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.06, $86.93.
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