GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a big day for the cattle complex as lower corn prices opened up the door for higher trade throughout both the live cattle and feeder cattle markets, but the market still has some unknowns that have to be tackled before the week's over. The lean hog complex endured another day downward pressure, but pork cutouts did close higher. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $2.58 with a weighted average of $97.56 on 3,355 head. July corn is down 10 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $1.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 84.29 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was an exhilarating day for the live cattle complex as the market shot higher upon the corn market's lower ascend, and it also saw that last week's cash market traded 135,487 head -- the largest volume traded since summer 2020. It's a gamble as to what's going to happen this week. The technical move that the live cattle contracts posted Monday could be the onset to higher territory, but packers could put a kibosh to all bullish ideas if slaughter speeds don't pick up the pace and if the cash cattle market doesn't see substantial interest. June live cattle closed $2.55 higher at $135.20, August live cattle closed $1.77 higher at $137.05 and October live cattle closed $1.57 higher at $144.05. Showlists are lighter in Texas, Nebraska and Colorado, but somewhat higher in Kansas. Asking prices are unknown at this time and it's likely that the week doesn't seen any trade until Wednesday or later.
Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 135,487 head. Of that. 63% (85,480 head) were committed for the nearby delivery, while the remaining 37% (50,007 head) were committed for the deferred delivery.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $1.77 ($262.55) and select up $0.26 ($248.23) with a movement of 79 loads (39.11 loads of choice, 15.15 loads of select, 12.51 loads of trim and 12.55 loads of ground beef).
TUESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady. Given that packers have bought 246,000 head out of the cash cattle market in the last two weeks, they could turn their backs to the market and let it trade lower this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Throughout Monday, the corn and soybean markets tumbled lower as moisture is noted on this week's forecast and could cause some issues for farmers who are looking to plant their fields. Meanwhile, the feeder cattle complex took the note of moisture as a double win. First, it pushed corn prices lower. Secondly, cow country still desperately needs the moisture for grass. May feeders closed $5.07 higher at $161.42, August feeders closed $5.80 higher at $174.07 and September feeders closed $5.25 higher at $176.67. The market is still well below the 40-day and 100-day moving averages so there's still room for the market to gain ground and continue to trade higher if the technical side of the market continues to push prices. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for April 29: down $0.40, $155.24.
LEAN HOGS:
Monday's arrival came as another beating for the lean hog contracts and at this point the question remains the same: Where is the bottom to this move? One of the biggest reasons the lean hog complex has struggled is because consumer demand has been so shotty. However, with higher temperatures nearing and summer activities hopefully going to naturally increase pork sales, hog producers are hoping that the end to this downward slide is near. June lean hogs closed $1.40 lower at $104.97, July lean hogs closed $2.97 lower at $107.05 and August lean hogs closed $2.77 lower at $106.87. Monday's pork cutout report did show a slightly higher close and gains were seen steadily throughout the entire report - butt up $2.57, picnic up $2.56, rib up $1.19, ham up $3.76 and bellies up $3.55, and the only cut that saw a drop in price was the loin which fell a mild $0.37. Pork cutouts totaled 290.52 loads with 248.82 loads of pork cuts and 41.71 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.00, $106.58. The CME Lean Hog Index for April 28: down $0.04, $101.77.
TUESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady to slightly higher. Given that pork cutout values did show some mild support and that packers have only been vigorously pursuing the market one to two days out of the week, it's likely that Tuesday's market sees more interest and there's a chance that prices get pushed slightly higher.
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