GENERAL COMMENTS:
Thus far, the livestock contracts are trading well into Monday's noon hour as all three of the markets are finding support. The slightly higher price of corn could derail the feeder cattle contracts from trading higher, but at this point the market is still trading higher. May corn is up 6 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $2.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 6.22 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is trading mildly higher in Monday's noon hour as the market tries to keep Friday's lively spirit alive. Boxed beef prices continue to print higher and are showing no sign of beef demand waning. Cash cattle trade won't likely develop until later in the week, but if its trade can remain steady to somewhat higher after last week's aggressive jolt, traders will see that as a win. April live cattle are up $0.20 at $171.27, June live cattle are up $0.37 at $163.47 and August live cattle are up $0.42 at $162.72.
Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade mostly took place on Wednesday with a little bit of clean up trade trickling in afterwards. Southern live cattle traded from $168 to $172, though mostly at $170, which is $4.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average in Texas and $3.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average in Kansas. Northern dressed cattle traded anywhere from $274 to $284, but mostly from $275 to $280 which is $4.50 to $9.50 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Northern live cattle traded at mostly $175, which is $4.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.96 ($292.94) and select up $1.19 ($276.97) with a movement of 25 loads (15.79 loads of choice, 2.76 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 6.35 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle contracts are trading mostly higher as the market continues to look to the live cattle complex support but it's keeping a close eye on the corn complex as it's currently trading $0.02 to $0.06 higher. If the corn market trends much higher, there's a likelihood that feeders could regress and elect to trade lower until more support is given by the live cattle/cash cattle market, which will likely come later this week when cash cattle begin to trade. April feeders are up $0.12 at $200.75, May feeders are down $0.07 at $205.32 and August feeders are up $0.32 at $222.92.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is keeping with Friday's rallying nature as most of its contracts are rallying into Monday's noon hour. The lean hog market was hesitant to trade higher at the day's start, but as traders see mild support early this week from the market's fundamentals, they've been quick to turn the contracts around and push prices higher. The pork cutout value remains a risky figure to watch as prices swings in both the belly and ham can greatly affect the overall carcass price. June lean hogs are up $1.60 at $89.77, July lean hogs are up $1.20 at $92.47 and August lean hogs are up $1.02 at $93.25.
The projected lean hog index for April 7 is down $0.24 at $72.64, and the actual index for April 6 is down $0.46 at $72.88. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $70.92, ranging from $68.00 to $76.00 on 3,693 head and five-day rolling average of $71.27. Pork cutouts total 134.07 loads with 115.68 loads of pork cuts and 18.39 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.45, $80.35.
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