GENERAL COMMENTS:
The regression in the corn market's rally gave traders enough confidence to step back into the livestock contracts and modestly support the markets heading into the final trading day of the week. It's looking like the bulk of this week's cash cattle trade is done as bids have yet to be renewed. May corn is up 1 3/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $2.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 192.45 points and NASDAQ is up 180.13 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle futures have been mostly higher through early Friday trade, but as the noon hour gets closer and closer there is resistance building in the nearby contracts. April live cattle are down $0.90 at $117.42, June live cattle are down $0.37 at $115.45 and August live cattle are down $0.12 at $116.60. This past week has been incredibly frustrating for cattlemen and feedlot managers alike as they've tried and tried to market their cattle, but when the board lacks any positive movement and the corn market jumps limit higher, it's hard not to sell cattle (even at lower prices). The concerning aspect about the market moving forward is that a plethora of cattle have been sold with delayed delivery, which will undermine the cash cattle market in the weeks to come regardless of what boxed beef prices do or how strong slaughter speeds are. Friday's cash cattle market is as quiet a church mouse without any bids having been renewed at this point in the day. Before heading out for the weekend make sure to look for DTN's updates on the latest Cattle on Feed Report.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.01 ($283.32) and select down $1.28 ($272.41) with a movement of 92 loads (62.03 loads of choice, 8.50 loads of select, 7.18 loads of trim and 13.84 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The break in the corn rally has given the feeder cattle complex some relief as cattle buyers worked and re-worked their cost of gains this past week to adjust for the higher corn prices. April feeder cattle are up $1.80 at $134.00, May feeders are up $0.10 at $137.12 and August feeders are up $0.77 at $149.15. The cattle market has had a gruesome week, taking blows not only from higher corn prices but also from the regression in the cash cattle market.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean hog futures are back to rallying modestly as traders are less opposed to investing in the markets Friday as they were Wednesday and Thursday amid the corn market's surge. June lean hogs are up $1.87 at $105.47, July lean hogs are up $2.00 at $104.25 and August lean hogs are up $1.95 at $100.87. Packers aren't showing much aggression in the morning's cash market but the day's not over and there's still plenty of time for more hogs to be bought. That being said, however, it wouldn't be surprising if Friday's cash market volume was slim as packers are no longer running vigorous Saturday kills with supplies as slim as they are.
The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 4/22/2021 is up $0.52 at $106.52, and the actual index for 4/21/2021 is up $0.87 at $105.99. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.20 with a weighted average of $105.52, ranging from $102.00 to $113.00 on 2,025 head and a five-day rolling average of $104.70. Pork cutouts total 207.51 loads with 180.86 loads of pork cuts and 26.65 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.56, $114.20.
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