GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mixed heading into Thursday's noon hour as the cattle contracts react poorly to the uptick in grain prices, but the lean hog complex is slowly trying to rebuild some position after Wednesday's sharp decline. No cash cattle trade has developed at this point, and packer interest should improve this afternoon. December corn is up 13 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $10.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 70.19 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is trading modestly lower as traders look at the spike in corn prices as pressuring and still doesn't have a clear understanding of what's going to develop in this week's cash cattle market. Bids of $175 are being offered in both Texas and Kansas and dressed bids of $295 are being offered in Nebraska, but those bids are far below asking prices. Asking prices in the South are noted at $180 to $182, but are still unestablished in the North. Packer interest should improve this afternoon, but trade could also be delayed until Friday as feedlots remain persistent in marketing their cattle as strategically as they possibly can. August live cattle are down $1.35 at $175.52, October live cattle are down $1.25 at $179.00 and December live cattle are down $1.10 at $182.27.
Beef net sales of 9,900 mt for 2023 were down 42% from the previous week and 28% from the prior four-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (3,200 mt) Taiwan (1,600 mt) and China (1,400 mt).
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $3.29 ($307.69) and select up $1.75 ($282.85) with a movement of 100 loads (61.97 loads of choice, 18.06 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 19.70 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
With the corn complex rebounding from Wednesday's big bounce, the feeder cattle contracts are looking at the $0.14 to $0.26 gains in the nearby corn contracts as way too much pressure. August feeders are down $2.85 at $243.72, September feeders are down $3.02 at $246.25 and October feeders are down $3.10 at $247.72. The live cattle/cash cattle market isn't much help either Thursday morning with cash cattle trade not developed yet and with the nearby live cattle contracts trading mostly $1.00 lower. Even though demand remains extremely strong in the countryside for feeders, seeing this big of a jump in corn prices has traders on edge.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is again trading higher as the market recovers mildly from Wednesday's sharply lower close. With the steady encouragement of continued support from both China and Mexico in export sales, and the additional support of higher pork cutout values and packer interest in the cash market, traders are feeling confident enough to trade the contracts mildly higher. August lean hogs are up $0.07 at $95.42, October lean hogs are up $0.80 at $82.97 and December lean hogs are up $1.07 at $76.20.
The projected lean hog index July 12 is up $0.93 at $100.29, and the actual index for July 11 is up $0.70 at $99.36. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $2.37 with a weighted average price of $101.75, ranging from $91.00 to $105.00 on 5,950 head and a five-day rolling average of $100.11. Pork cutouts total 164.57 loads with 152.71 loads of pork cuts and 11.85 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.44, $112.10.
Pork next sales of 24,500 mt for 2023 were down 6% from the previous week and 9% from the prior four-week average. The three largest buyers were China (13,700 mt), Japan (3,800 mt) and Mexico (3,600 mt).
No comments:
Post a Comment