GENERAL COMMENTS:
It's a dreary day thus far for the livestock contracts as all three markets are trading lower into Thursday's afternoon. Monitoring any developments in the cash cattle market remains a high priority. March corn is down 13 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is down $2.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 32.83 points and NASDAQ is up 6.22 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It's no surprise that the live cattle contracts are trading lower with no cash cattle trade having been reported and after seeing Thursday morning's pitiful export report. Traders are trying to patient as they know that feedlots will likely push the cash cattle market higher again this week, but the pain in waiting the week out is seeming to get to them. April live cattle are down $0.57 at $164.87, June live cattle are down $0.67 at $159.97 and August live cattle are down $0.55 at $159.62. Asking prices in the South are noted at $167 plus and remain unestablished in the North. Trade could begin to develop Thursday afternoon, or it could wait until Friday to get underway.
Beef net sales of 5,600 mt for 2023, a marketing-year low, were down 31% from the previous week and 67% from the prior four-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (3,200 mt), Mexico (1,400 mt) and China (500 mt).
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.11 ($284.67) and select down $1.99 ($276.13) with a movement of 45 loads (32.04 loads of choice, 5.97 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 6.90 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Even with corn prices plummeting another $0.10 to $0.11 lower in the nearby contracts, the feeder cattle market is continuing to press the pause button as traders would like to see what this week's cash cattle market is going to amount to. March feeders are down $0.30 at $193.45, April feeders are down $0.30 at $199.77 and May feeders are down $0.12 at $206.02. Seeing the feeder cattle market chop sideways after the market's extreme rally earlier this week isn't a disappointment. If the market maintains these levels (even by trading merely sideways) it's a win for the feeder cattle complex.
LEAN HOGS:
With another disappointing export report, the lean hog market is yet again trading lower. April lean hogs are down $1.10 at $84.65, June lean hogs are down $0.52 at $99.75 and July lean hogs are down $0.37 at $102.30. One would have hoped that, with cash prices closing higher and pork cutouts closing higher Wednesday afternoon, traders would have been more willing to at least mildly support the contracts, but with the nearby trajectory of the market in question about demand, traders aren't overly optimistic.
The projected lean hog index for March 8 is up $0.10 at $79.39, and the actual index for March 7 is up $0.20 at $79.29. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.22 with a weighted average of $78.27, ranging from $75.00 to $80.00 on 4,037 head and a five-day rolling average of $78.10. Pork cutouts total 146.60 loads with 116.71 loads of pork cuts and 29.89 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.34, $87.32.
Pork net sales of 22,100 mt for 2023 were down 29% from the previous week and 44% from the prior four-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (10,700 mt), South Korea (3,800 mt) and Colombia (1,200 mt).
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