GENERAL COMMENTS:
It's been a productive Tuesday morning for both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts, as the markets head higher upon the corn market's uncertain nature. The lean hog complex is still tumbling lower as the market can't seem to find technical nor fundamental support. July corn is down 9 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $3.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 184.07 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The contracts are rallying into Tuesday's afternoon and the June contract is even toying with the idea of taking out the 40-day moving average. June live cattle are up $0.37 at $135.55, August live cattle are up $0.35 at $137.40 and October live cattle are up $0.40 at $144.45. The cash cattle market has even seen a little interest as a regional packer in Kansas is offering $141 but no one has jumped on the offer yet. Asking prices are noted at $142 plus in the South and the North has yet to share what they're asking this week. Trade could begin to happen Tuesday afternoon, but it's equally as likely that trade holds off until Wednesday. Heading into the afternoon, cattlemen will be interested to see how Tuesday's slaughter fairs after Monday's pitiful performance of only slaughtering 115,000 head.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $1.75 ($260.80) and choice up $0.98 ($249.21) with a movement of 80 loads (51.19 loads of choice, 15.21 loads of select, 3.88 loads of trim and 10.21 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle contracts are dancing back and forth with the corn market as corn has traded on both sides of steady Tuesday morning. At this point, the nearby corn contracts are trending $0.10 to $0.11 cheaper, which is allowing for the feeder cattle contracts to rally again. May feeders are up $0.92 at $162.35, August feeders are up $1.32 at $175.45 and September feeders are up $0.87 at $177.55. The market is going to continue to trade oppositely of that of the corn complex, but with moisture in the forecast, corn may have to allow feeders to take the market's center stage this week.
LEAN HOGS:
It's been a brutal day for the lean hog complex thus far as the market is continuing to plunder lower as traders see the market's fundamental environment as too unsupportive to sustain the levels that the market was trading at. June lean hogs are down $1.90 at $103.07, July lean hogs are down $2.72 at $104.35 and August lean hogs are down $2.25 at $104.62. The cash hog market hasn't seen much interest and unless pork cutout values begin to show some serious interest, packers may be thin of buyers and leave the cash market largely unpursued.
The projected lean hog index for May 2 is down $0.44 at $101.15, and the actual index for April 29 is down $0.18 at $101.59. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that 3,835 head have traded and that the five-day rolling average has moved to $98.50. Pork cutouts total 167.23 loads with 151.63 loads of pork cuts and 15.60 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.28, $106.86.
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