GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a quiet day throughout the livestock complex as not much developed from either a technical or fundamental stance. Traders could be slightly more aggressive in the contracts on Tuesday as both pork cutout values and boxed beef prices closed higher. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.75 with a weighted average price of $89.63 on 1,095 head. July corn is down 3/4 cent per bushel and July soybean meal is up $9.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 146.43 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
With little action developing in Monday's market, it doesn't come as much of a surprise to see that the live cattle complex closed slightly lower. June live cattle closed $1.42 lower at $177.15, August live cattle closed $1.10 lower at $175.67 and October live cattle closed $0.82 lower at $179.77. What continues to be a worth-nothing threshold for the spot June live cattle contract is the market's 100-day moving average. Traders have struggled to consistently trade above that price point for the last week. But if fundamental support develops, potentially in the form of stronger boxed beef sales, traders could break above that resistance threshold and trade steadily higher if demand surfaces. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas, Nebraska/Colorado, but lower in Texas. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 113,000 head -- steady with a week ago but 9,000 head less than a year ago.
Last week Southern live cattle traded for mostly $182 which is steady with the previous week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $294 which is $2.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 92,548 head. Of that 74% (68,496 head) were committed to the nearby delivery, while the remaining 26% (24,052 head) were committed to the deferred delivery.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $0.39 ($297.53) and select up $1.49 ($290.21) with a movement of 104 loads (63.96 loads of choice, 15.77 loads of select, 9.71 loads of trim and 14.25 loads of ground beef).
TUESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Feedlots are likely encouraged by last week's cash cattle trade, but with packers buying just shy of 100,000 head last week, they may not have to support this week's cash sector as aggressively.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex saw plenty of support throughout the countryside as sale barn sales performed well -- but from a technical standpoint the market lacked the gusto it needed to drive the contracts higher. May feeders closed $0.67 lower at $248.02, August feeders closed $0.92 lower at $259.62 and September feeders closed $0.85 lower at $260.72. The spot August contract was able to remain above the market's 40-day moving average, but will need better interest come Tuesday if the complex is to keep above that price point. At Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma compared to last week and at their midsession point, feeder steers over 800 pounds were selling steady to $2.00 higher while steers under 800 pounds were trading $3.00 to $6.00 higher. Heifers over 800 pounds were selling $3.00 to $6.00 higher and heifers under 800 pounds were selling $3.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 84%. The CME feeder cattle index 4/26/2024: up $1.65, $247.18.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex closed in a mixed manner as the market's deferred contracts were able to close slightly higher, but the nearby contracts struggled all the way through the day's close. One of the biggest concerns right now in the hog complex is the question of whether or not summertime demand is going to flourish. Thankfully on Monday afternoon pork cutout values were well supported, but the belly remains a cut that could be volatile and consequently affect the carcass price. June lean hogs closed steady at $102.47, July lean hogs closed $0.50 lower at $105.45 and August lean hogs closed $0.27 lower at $103.67. Pork cutouts totaled 332.70 loads with 299.10 loads of pork cuts and 33.60 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.37, $99.00. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 482,000 head -- steady with a week ago and 32,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 4/25/2024: down $0.55, $90.88.
TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Higher. It's likely that Tuesday's market will see slightly better interest than what Monday's complex received.
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