GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a quiet day for the cattle complex, but the lean hog contracts maintained their upward surge through Tuesday's end. No interest developed in the cash cattle market, and it's likely that trade is delayed until sometime Thursday or even potentially delayed until Friday morning. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.05 with a weighted average price of $77.81 on 9,665 head. December corn is up 4 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $1.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 137.53 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
As traders walked backward from their hefty push last week, the live cattle contracts closed lower without much action being seen in the marketplace today. Until traders can see what develops in the cash market and how the Cattle on Feed report treats the complex, it's likely that they remain cautious throughout the week unless the cash complex trades early and trades strong. It's likely that cash prices remain at least steady if not gain another $1.00 or $2.00, but trading early isn't likely as feedlots have to strategically let time pass in order to work more money out of packers. Asking prices are noted at $186 in the South but still remain elusive in the North. October live cattle closed $0.65 lower at $185.67, December live cattle closed $0.52 lower at $190.47 and February live cattle closed $0.82 lower at $194.92.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 127,000 head -- steady with a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $3.20 ($302.12) and select down $1.63 ($281.78) with a movement of 165 loads (87.40 loads of choice, 39.68 loads of select, 18.97 loads of trim and 19.36 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to $2.00 higher. The cash cattle market will likely see moderate interest from packers this week as they want to avoid becoming short bought in the weeks ahead.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex closed lower as the cattle complex couldn't seem to draw in the interest of traders throughout Tuesday's hours. September feeders closed $0.75 lower at $253.50, October feeders closed $1.60 lower at $259.35 and November feeders closed $0.40 lower at $265.02. Even though the feeder cattle complex closed lower, and traders seem to be walking back some of last week's aggressive move, the momentum in the countryside isn't weakening as buyers continue to scout the countryside aggressively for both calves and feeders. At Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri compared to last week feeder steers sold $3.00 to $6.00 higher and feeder heifers sold $6.00 to $10.00 higher. Supply was heavy with 8,067 head selling (compared to 5,125 head last year) and demand was extremely strong. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 64%. The CME feeder cattle index 9/18/2023: not available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
It was a strong day for the lean hog complex as the market kept its momentum through closing despite nearing resistance pressure. October lean hogs closed $1.60 higher at $84.85, December lean hogs closed $1.82 higher at $76.25 and February lean hogs closed $1.45 higher at $79.20. Come Wednesday the market will be even more pressured to either keep the complex trading merely steady, or to bow down to resistance. Pork cutout values managed to close higher again this afternoon with modest gains seen across the cuts as the biggest advancement was in the belly which jumped $2.25. Pork cutouts totaled 272.25 loads with 255.32 loads of pork cuts and 16.93 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.17, $101.13. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 484,000 head - 7,000 head more than a week ago and 1,000 head less than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 9/15/2023: down $0.12, $86.81.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Packers have shown more interest in the cash market this week as they need to stock up on supplies. It's likely that they continue to buy somewhat modestly in Wednesday's market but won't likely need to do so to the point in which prices jump.
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