GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a tough day for the cattle complex as traders braced themselves for the afternoon's Cattle on Feed (COF) report, but the lean hog complex did finally find some support ahead of Friday's end. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1 with a weighted average price of $79.30 on 3,553 head. May corn is down 1 1/2 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $5.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 305.47 points.
From Friday-to-Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: April live cattle up $0.25, June live cattle down $0.70; March feeder up $0.68, April feeder cattle down $0.63; April lean hogs down $2.35, June lean hogs down $2.77; May corn up $0.03, July corn up $0.03.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a rough day for the live cattle complex. Between boxed beef prices closing lower and Friday's COF report showing greater placements, the market hit a bit of a bump. The report will likely be viewed as bearish as placements were 110% off a year ago. Click here to view DTN's COF comments:
Even with the cash cattle market thriving and seeing historically high prices, traders ran out of support technically throughout the week and even tested support levels in the spot June contract as the market came close to closing below its 40-day moving average.
April live cattle closed $0.87 lower at $187.50, June live cattle closed $1.60 lower at $182.90 and August live cattle closed $1.77 lower at $181.50. The cash cattle market didn't see much more cash cattle trade develop as packers did most of their buying Thursday. Throughout the week, Southern live cattle traded at $188, $2 higher than last week's weighted average and Northern dressed cattle traded at $302, $4 higher than last week's weighted average.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 109,000 head -- 4,000 head less than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 14,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 598,000 head -- 3,000 head less than a week ago and 29,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $3.01 ($310.72) and select down $2.26 ($301.47) with a movement of 85 loads (54.80 loads of choice, 6.70 loads of select, 7.70 loads of trim and 15.81 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat higher. With showlists current, packers could end up paying more money again next week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex tucked its tail and ran lower ahead of Friday's end. Traders expected the COF report to be heavy as placements were expected to be larger than a year ago so nervousness set into the market ahead of Friday's end. April feeders closed $3.12 lower at $251.50, May feeders closed $4.30 lower at $253.77 and August feeders closed $3.85 lower at $264.55. It's likely that come Monday, the market will trade lower again as traders will likely still be fixated on the COF report.
The Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that throughout the entire states and when compared to a week ago, steers and heifers over 550 pounds traded $3 to $5 higher. Steers and heifers under 550 pounds sold $8 to $15 higher with instances up to $25 stronger. Slaughter cows sold $5 to $7 higher and slaughter bulls traded steady to $4 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 65%. The CME feeder cattle index March 21: Not available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
After being pressured throughout the earlier part of the week, the lean hog complex finally found some technical support in Friday's market. The spot April contract still closed lower, but the rest of the marketplace rounded out the week on a higher note. It did help that pork cutout values also rounded out the day higher, which was largely because of the $11.42 jump in the rib which continues to be a volatile cut at this point.
April lean hogs closed $0.32 lower at $84.57, June lean hogs closed $0.40 higher at $99.70 and July lean hogs closed $0.17 higher at $102.07. Pork cutouts totaled 234.26 loads with 194.58 loads of pork cuts and 39.68 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.29, $94.37. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 485,000 head -- 41,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 95,000 head. The CME lean hog index March 20: up $0.33, $83.54.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. It's likely that packers vaguely show interest in Monday's cash market, buying up enough hogs to supply their day's needs but not to the point in which prices turn higher.
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