GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a quiet day throughout the livestock complex with not much developing throughout the day. Both the live cattle and feeder cattle markets were able to close higher, but weak demand keeps the lean hog complex trending lower. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon hog report, down $0.65 with a weighted average of $67.98 on 6,730 hogs. May corn closed up 1 at $6.775 and July soybean meal closed down $4.10 at $458.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 10.55 at 33,976.63.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a back and forth, teetering kind of day for the live cattle market as traders seemed unsure whether or not they should advance the contracts. But by Tuesday's end, traders found confidence in the market's strong fundamentals and elected to move the contracts mildly higher. April live cattle closed $0.73 higher at $176.475, June live cattle closed $0.33 higher at $165.2 and August live cattle closed $0.28 higher at $164.05. The cash cattle market didn't see any business develop Tuesday afternoon, and asking prices are still unestablished. Business won't likely develop until Thursday or Friday as feedlots again seek to move the cash cattle market higher while front-end supplies are thin and beef demand is strong.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 128,000 head, 2,000 head more than a week ago and 4,000 head more than a year ago. Monday's slaughter was revised to 121,000 head.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $1.08 ($307.06) and select up $2.29 ($291.61) with a movement of 123.85 loads (73.68 loads of choice, 20.63 loads of select, 7.58 loads of trim and 21.96 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. When the cash cattle market trades this week, it's expected to be higher once again.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Even with the slightly higher close in the corn complex, the feeder cattle market was able to secure a higher position by Tuesday's end thanks to the market's tremendous fundamental support and spillover support from the live cattle market. As traders look ahead and begin to anticipate what Friday's Cattle on Feed report could unveil, traders are confident that the report will be supportive with fewer cattle on feed than a year ago and lighter placements, both of which bode positively for feeders. April feeders closed $0.38 higher at $205.925, May feeders closed $0.75 higher at $211.5 and August feeders closed $0.73 higher at $226.075. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for April 17: up $0.73, $206.37.
LEAN HOGS:
It was a nail-biting kind of day for the lean hog market as traders dumped their positive mindset and sent the lean hog contracts crashing lower. Even though the contracts closed lower, they didn't close below the support plane established last Thursday. This is significant because it signals that a bottom has been found in the market. On Wednesday, the market will again be tested to see whether or not that support plane will hold, which could be dicey for the complex. It was relieving to see that pork cutout values found a little support in Tuesday's market as carcass values closed $1.32 higher. But again, that price jump solely came from a $7.86 in ham prices, every single other cut closed lower. June lean hogs closed $2.42 lower at $85.75, July lean hogs closed $1.70 lower at $88.77 and August lean hogs closed $1.27 lower at $89.87. Pork Cutouts totaled 347.77 loads with 302.15 loads of pork cuts and 45.62 loads of trim. Pork cutout values are up $1.32 at $78.93. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 484,000 head, 1,000 head less than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. The CME Lean Hog Index for April 14: down $0.11, $71.52.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Slightly higher. Packers didn't support the cash market enough on Tuesday to drive prices higher, but they were slightly more aggressive in the sheer number of hogs that they procured. This could signal that they're needing to restock inventory.
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