GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mixed as both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts trade higher, but the lean hog complex is lagging. No more cash cattle trade has been noted and, at this point, it's looking like trade will be delayed until Friday. December corn is up 2 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $3.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 94.05 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is again trading higher as traders feel more confident in the cash cattle market's intentions given that merely no cattle have traded and that feedlots continue to pass up the offers currently being pitched. Bids of $177 are currently being offered in the South, but with Southern feedlots seeking $182 or more, that bid is a long way away from getting any cattle bought. It's likely that the cash cattle market trades steady this week as packers were able to get some cattle bought with time, but feedlots aren't showing their cards early and making this week's trade easy for packers either. At this point it's likely that trade is delayed until Friday as feedlots and packers remain in a standoff. August live cattle are up $1.02 at $181.60, October live cattle are up $1.57 at $183.27 and December live cattle are up $1.65 at $187.15.
Beef net sales of 14,800 mt for 2023 were up 19% from the previous week, but down 8% from the prior four-week average. The three primary buyers were South Korea (5,300 mt), Japan (2,600 mt) and China (2,400 mt).
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.34 ($303.18) and select up $0.06 ($278.20) with a movement of 65 loads (37.07 loads of choice, 14.06 loads of select, 5.68 loads of trim and 8.57 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle contracts are continuing to thrive through Thursday's market as traders aren't necessarily worried about the mild $0.01 to $0.03 gain currently in the corn complex as feeder cattle sales remain incredibly strong and as the live cattle market treks higher. August feeders are up $1.62 at $248.77, September feeders are up $1.82 at $252.45 and October feeders are up $1.92 at $254.07. With the cash cattle market still not traded yet, that's also lending feeders some support as the fat cattle market remains incredibly strong and is expected to remain bullish throughout both the third and fourth quarters of 2023.
LEAN HOGS:
Well, to put it politely, Thursday's midday pork cutout report is plum nuts. The carcass price jumped a whopping $8.11, thanks to a $39.76 jump in the belly. You read that correctly, the belly jumped nearly $40.00 this morning, which is insane! It's no wonder why traders are leery of supporting the contracts this morning as pork demand is about as volatile as it can be. And, with pork cutout values bouncing higher and lower dramatically day in and day out, the cash market isn't seeing much support, consequently. October lean hogs are down $0.37 at $81.20, December lean hogs are down $1.02 at $74.02 and February lean hogs are down $1.32 at $78.00.
The projected lean hog index for Aug. 9 is down $0.43 at $103.91, and the actual index for Aug. 8 is down $0.24 at $104.34. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $3.17 with a weighted average price of $96.35, ranging from $93.00 to $99.00 on 2,633 head and a five-day rolling average of $99.38. Pork cutouts total 164.54 loads with 145.33 loads of pork cuts and 19.21 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $8.11, $117.23.
Pork net sales of 22,300 mt for 2023 were up 25% from the previous week and up 3% from the prior four-week average. The three primary buyers were Mexico (6,000 mt), Japan (4,500 mt) and China (3,000 mt).
No comments:
Post a Comment