GENERAL COMMENTS:
Cattle futures continue to shift lower for the third straight trading session. Live cattle contracts are leading the market lower but have bounced off morning lows. August live cattle futures are 72 cents lower, although the underlying weakness in deferred feeder cattle futures is creating some concern that additional softness may develop later in the day and could extend through the end of the month. Hog futures have been able to find market stability during morning trade with all nearby contracts holding 20- to 30-cent gains. This could help spark further buyer interest, but still may not significantly change any fundamental or technical market direction over the near future. December corn is down 1 cent per bushel and December soybean meal is down $2.40 per ton. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 36 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Early pressure in live cattle futures Thursday morning has created uncertainty despite early week gains. August live cattle futures are leading the market lower with 77-cent losses. This has pushed spot prices below $124 per cwt once again. October futures have given back previous gains, now trading under $130 per cwt. It is likely early losses will continue to hold through the rest of the session, although at this point, no significant market shift is likely to develop. Cash cattle markets are still generally quiet, although bids are expected to improve by the end of the day. A few asking prices are seen at $125 and higher live basis in the South and $205 and higher dressed in the North. The special Fed Cattle Exchange Auction on Thursday listed a total of 3,731 head, of which 1,387 actually sold, and 2,344 head were listed as unsold, as they did not meet the reserve prices, that ranged from $122 to $127. Opening prices ranged from $119 to $122, high bids ranged from $122 to $123. The state-by-state breakdown looks like this: Texas 3,470 total head, with 1,387 head sold at $122 to $123, and 2,083 went head unsold; Kansas 72 total head, all of which went unsold; Oklahoma 189 total head, all of which went unsold.
Thursday morning's boxed beef prices are higher in light trade, with choice cuts $1.23 higher at $347.51 and selects up $3.78 at $315.42 on a total count of 68 loads. Dow Jones estimated Thursday's cattle slaughter at 121,000, steady with a week ago.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle futures are sliding lower with moderate to firm pressure in nearby contacts. The overall softness in live cattle trade is creating some additional concerns. Although corn prices have eased slightly through morning trade, the inability to hang onto recent lower feed prices is adding some concern that additional pressure may develop in the feeder cattle trade, especially early 2022 contract months. The CME Feeder Index was priced at $158.07 for Aug. 24.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean hog futures continue to show very little long-term support Thursday morning, but the potential to hold onto midweek gains is impressive given the overall weakness in most commodity markets during morning trade. October through February futures are all holding 25-cent gains, as limited interest has held following early buyer activity. Weekly export sales are reported at 24,100 metric tons (mt) with shipments at 29,900 mt. China posted limited sales and shipments during the last week, which is somewhat disappointing to the market in general. Cutouts are up $0.9.05 at $119.29 Thursday morning on 125.37 loads. Negotiated hog prices are 0.77 lower per cwt lower with a weighted average price of $93.42 per cwt on 4,999 head on the National Direct Morning Hog Report. The swine/pork market formula price is listed at $102.07 per cwt. Dow Jones estimated Thursday's hog slaughter at 476,000, steady with a week ago, while 6,000 less than year ago levels. The CME Lean Hog Index is estimated at $104.79 for Aug. 25.
No comments:
Post a Comment