GENERAL COMMENTS:
The live cattle market is trending higher, which is helping feedlots hold out for higher prices this week in the cash market. Bids are being offered all throughout the countryside, but feedlots haven't jumped on selling cattle at this point. December corn is down 7 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $3.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 145.93 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
With feedlots waiting this week out in hopes of higher prices, the futures market is supporting higher tones and could help feedlots muster at least steady prices. August live cattle are up $0.27 at $136.00, October live cattle are up $0.42 at $141.52 and December live cattle are up $0.30 at $147.00. A few bids have been scattered throughout the market this morning, but feedlots have yet to jump on any of the offers as they wait for better money. Bids of $142 live and $225 dressed are being offered in Iowa, and bids of $226 to $228 are being offered in Nebraska, none of which have been taken at this point. There was a thin movement of cattle in Texas Tuesday afternoon which sold for $136, which is roughly $0.50 higher than last week's weighted average. Stronger interest from packers should develop ahead of the day's end, and at this point it's looking like feedlots possess enough leverage to keep prices steady if not push them a little higher.
The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction held today reported 12 lots, totaling 1,577 head of cattle, of which only 1 lot sold (TX, 114 head at $133.50).
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.34 ($271.23) and select down $0.43 ($243.30) with a movement of 69 loads (42.98 loads of choice, 10.91 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 14.77 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Even as the corn market trends steady to $0.03 lower in its nearby contracts, Wednesday's feeder cattle market has seemed to run out of steam as it's trading $0.20 to $0.52 lower into the afternoon. Demand is still incredible for both calves and feeders and the corn market hasn't jolted higher, so it's likely that traders are letting the market breath today and could take it higher later in the week of fundamental demand holds. August feeders are down $0.20 at $178.55, September feeders are down $0.17 at $181.62 and October feeders are down $0.05 at $184.52.
LEAN HOGS:
As limited supplies of market-ready hogs propels the lean hog market higher, the futures market gapped higher Wednesday morning to lead the market higher right from the day's start. August lean hogs are up $1.62 at $114.45, October lean hogs are up $1.17 at $95.67 and December lean hogs are up $0.75 at $86.42. The cash hog market is insane right now. Buyers were undoubtedly cussing under their breath Wednesday morning as the market's high jumped from $125 on Tuesday to $130 Wednesday, which indicates how short bought some packers are. With cash prices jumping this aggressively, monitoring processing speeds is imperative as packers could slow down production.
The projected lean hog index for July 19 is up $0.46 at $116.37, and the actual index for July 18 is up $1.02 at $115.91. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $5.82 with a weighted average of $123.31, ranging from $111.00 to $130.00 on 11,477 head and a five-day rolling average of $119.11. Pork cutouts total 139.40 loads with 125.87 loads of pork cuts and 13.54 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $3.34.
No comments:
Post a Comment