GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cattle contracts are again traipsing into Wednesday's afternoon fully higher as the market sees phenomenal interest from traders and key fundamental support. What really solidified the market's move to trade higher was when fat cattle began to trade $4.00 higher in the North late Tuesday afternoon. July corn is up 2 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $4.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 306.14 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
After seeing the sharply higher trade come in from the North late Tuesday afternoon, the cash cattle market has been relatively quiet. A few more head have traded in the North at $146 live, but otherwise the market sits idle. There's no doubt that packers were caught being short bought and that's what drove prices higher. Thankfully, feedlots were keen about their marketing this week and were able to see prices driven higher upon packers' desperate need for more cattle. Nevertheless, this movement has been as successful as it has been because the support has stem from both technical and fundamental indicators. The board is rallying into Wednesday's afternoon and showing that it too supports the market's desire for stronger trade. April live cattle are up $1.20 at $142.55, June live cattle are up $1.75 at $138.32 and August live cattle are up $1.57 at $139.75. Asking prices left for cattle on showlists remain at $142 to $143 in the South and $234-plus in the North.
This week Southern live deals have been marked at $139 to $141, mostly $140, $1 higher. Northern dressed cattle have sold from $230 to $232, mostly $230, $4 higher. Some sales were also reported in parts of Colorado at $144, $2 higher.
The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction listed a total of 3,052 head, of which 641 actually sold, none were scratched from the auction and 2,411 head were listed as unsold, as they did not meet the reserve prices that ranged from $134 to $148. Opening prices ranged from $132 to $140, high bids ranged from $134 to $146. The state-by-state breakdown looks like this: Texas 1,366 total head, with 571 head sold at $135 to $140.25, and 795 head went unsold; Iowa 1,616 total head, of which none actually sold; California 70 total head, with all 70 head sold at $134.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.34 ($269.59) and select down $2.40 ($256.81) with a movement of 97 loads (58.61 loads of choice, 15.71 loads of select, 5.34 loads of trim and 16.89 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle contracts are again trading higher as the market sees the gain made in the live cattle complex and feels reassured that cattle demand is indeed strong. April feeder cattle are up $0.82 at $157.47, May feeder cattle are up $2.42 at $163.20 and August feeder cattle are up $1.95 at $173.40. The corn complex is showing minor gains in its nearby contracts while the deferred months trade slightly lower. With there not being a big threat thus far in Wednesday's market of jolting corn prices, it's likely that the support from the live cattle sector leads the feeder cattle contracts through the day's end. Drought and high feed prices remain a concern for calf/feeder buyers, but seeing a stronger board and interest in the fat cattle market helps raise the market's morale.
LEAN HOGS:
Our assumption about seeing a weaker lean hog complex has been confirmed in Wednesday's market as the nearby months of June through October 2022 all trade at least $1.00 lower heading into the afternoon. June lean hogs are down $1.77 at $119.55, July lean hogs are down $1.30 at $120.70 and August lean hogs are down $1.05 at $119.02. The complex is short on market-ready hog supplies, but with pork cutout values showing mixed signals, the board as seemed to take a backseat position as it looks for fundamental cues.
The projected lean hog index for April 19 is up $0.43 at $100.93 and the actual index for April 18 is up $0.18 at $100.50. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Hog Report, down $0.67 with a weighted average of $99.02 ranging from $94.00 to $110.00 on 4,645 head and a five-day rolling average of $97.92. Pork cutouts total 156.37 loads with 126.28 loads of pork cuts and 30.10 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.82, $109.94.
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