GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a wild week in the market with a quarterly hogs and pigs report, a Cattle on Feed report, and an untested cash cattle market at Friday's close. Needless to say, the markets are dealing with volatile swings and will likely see fluctuations in next week's trade. Hog prices closed higher on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.70 with a weighted average of $116.89 on 7,855 head. July corn is down 16 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $4.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 237.02 points and NASDAQ is down 9.32 points.
From Friday to Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: June live cattle up $1.78, August live cattle up $1.25; August feeder cattle up $4.53, September feeder cattle up $4.03; July lean hogs down $6.72, August lean hogs down $6.90.
LIVE CATTLE:
It may be Friday and the day is almost done, but there is still a lot of business that needs to be done throughout the cash cattle market, otherwise this week's movement will be plum pathetic at only 35,461 head. Packers are not wanting the nation's weighted average to scale any higher and that's why feedlots are seeing such little interest in the Southern Plains, and any deals that are coming in the South are at ridiculous prices. There has been a little bit of trade in the Texas reported at $118, which is $4.00 lower than the rest of the week's trade. Meanwhile in the North, of the cattle that have traded, deals of $197 to $201 were made. August live cattle closed $0.17 higher at $122.80, October live cattle closed $0.12 higher at $128.40 and December live cattle closed $0.52 higher at $132.22. Friday's Cattle on Feed report didn't shake the market, especially not so when cash cattle trade is lagging as much as it is.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 116,000 head, 1,000 head less than a week ago and 2,000 head less than year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected at 70,000 head, 1,000 head more than a week ago and 8,000 head less than a year ago. The week's total estimated slaughter is pinned at 661,000 head, down 2,000 from a week ago and 4,000 head from a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $2.86 ($304.56) and select up $0.04 ($276.18) with a movement of 93 loads (61.90 loads of choice, 17.83 loads of select, 8.80 loads of trim and 4.90 loads of ground beef). Throughout the week boxed beef prices ascended lower compared to last week's averages. Choice cuts through the week averaged $312.20 (down $17.52 from last week) and select cuts averaged $277.79 (down $14.71 from last week) and the week's total movement of cuts, grinds, and trim totaled 541 loads. The week's choice/select spread averaged a wide $34.41.
MONDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: It's hard telling what Monday will be until this week's trade is finalized. It's very likely that we see more trade develop late Friday afternoon, so be on the lookout for Monday's weighted average. If Friday isn't successful in moving any more cattle, next week packers will have to be more aggressive in the market to keep chain speeds running at the levels they are now.
FEEDER CATTLE:
As the corn market endured another grueling week, the feeder cattle contracts didn't neglect to capture the opportunity to rally amid lower input prices. August feeders closed $2.40 higher at $159.55, September feeders closed $2.05 higher at $161.25 and October feeders closed $1.60 higher at $162.70. Buyers were interested in purchasing feeders this past week as the market finally gave them an opportunity to invest. The new-crop corn is trending at levels that are still high compared to years past but are far more favorable than what the market's been accustomed to here in 2021. Compared to last week the Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Summary shared that feeder steers sold $1.00 to $3.00 higher, and feeder heifers sold mostly steady. Steer calves sold $3.00 to $8.00 higher and heifer calves sold $1.00 to $4.00 higher. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for June 24: down $0.20, $146.29.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog contracts snuck in a higher close before trailing out for the week after a depressing week of lower trade and immense volatility. July lean hogs closed $1.92 higher at $101.95, August lean hogs closed $1.07 higher at $99.77 and October lean hogs closed $1.20 higher at $84.40. After ping-ponging around this week, Friday afternoon pork cutout values decided to close lower yet again, signaling that a price correction is well underway. Nevertheless, packers stepped up to Friday's market in the cash hog sector and bought nearly 8,000 head for higher prices even though Saturday's kill is expected to be a dismal 25,000 head. Pork cutouts total 254.53 loads with 219.03 loads of pork cuts and 35.50 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $2.95, $110.04. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 451,000 head, 13,000 head less than a week ago and 17,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's kill is projected to be around 25,000 head - 35,000 head less than a week ago and 283,000 head less than a year ago. The CME Lean Hog Index for June 23: down $1.97, $117.62.
MONDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Lower. Seeing that packers were aggressive in Friday's cash hog trade leaves one to believe that they will be idle next week until they see how demand is going to shape up.
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