GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cattle contracts are trading higher into Friday's noon hour while the lean hog contracts continue to trade lower. With the Southern Plains able to trade cattle for $1.00 to $2.00 higher this week, it's not surprising that the futures complex is trading higher given the strong fundamental support. December corn is down 2 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $4.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 109.49 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The spot October contract is trading mildly lower but that's not keeping the rest of the live cattle contracts from trading higher. Feedlot managers in the South are pleased with their decision to wait the week out to trade cattle as prices are being noted at $180, which is $1.00 to $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average. Asking prices for cattle left on showlists remain at $180-plus in the South and $292-plus in the North. This week's volume in the cash market will be especially interesting to note on Monday when the week's data comes out. Both last week and the week before, packers had only mildly supported the cash sector, which could mean that they need to either get more aggressive Friday and get inventory built, or that they're going to need to do so next week. October live cattle are down $0.30 at $183.35, December live cattle are up $0.07 at $187.57 and February live cattle are up $0.27 at $191.67. There was some dressed trade reported Thursday afternoon in Nebraska and Iowa at $290, which is mostly steady with last week's weighted average.
Beef net sales of 11,900 mt for 2023 were down 34% from the previous week and 20% from the prior four-week average. The three primary buyers were Japan (4,100 mt), South Korea (2,100 mt) and China (1,600 mt).
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.89 ($313.55) and select up $0.29 ($286.46) with a movement of 62 loads (37.00 loads of choice, 8.07 loads of select, 10.26 loads of trim and 6.48 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle contracts are merely skipping into Friday's noon hour as the market joyfully notes the slight decrease in corn prices and the higher trade in the Southern Plains cash cattle market. September feeders are up $0.15 at $255.72, October feeders are up $0.67 at $259.55 and November feeders are up $0.65 at $260.92. Today's modest rally pushes the spot October contract to yet another new contract high. It will be incredibly interesting to see what feeder cattle prices do later this month when the big runs start to take off.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex isn't seeing the momentum nor support from traders that it hoped to see as the contracts drift mildly lower into Friday's noon hour. Midday pork cutout values are up big with the belly sporting a $16.19 rally, along with the ham's snappy increase of $9.60. All of the other cuts are trading higher as well, but their gains weren't as dramatic. It's likely that the market will close with this lackadaisical tone and wait for next week's market to decide if resistance should be broken through or not.
The projected lean hog index for Sept. 7 is up $0.08 at $86.27, and the actual index for Sept. 6 is up $0.18 at $86.19. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $79.79, ranging from $74.00 to $84.00 on 2,188 head and a five-day rolling average of $79.58. Pork cutouts total 119.57 loads with 106.22 loads of pork cuts and 13.35 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $5.62, $99.83.
Pork net sales of 26,300 mt for 2023 were down 29% from the previous week and 13% from the prior four-week average. The three primary buyers were Mexico (8,500 mt), Japan (4,700 mt) and South Korea (3,300 mt).
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