GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a strong, supportive day for the livestock complex as all three of the markets closed mostly higher and traders seemed to have refocused their minds following the HPAI disruption. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $7.45 with a weighted average price of $93.77 on 7,225 head. May corn is down 4 1/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $0.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 8.86 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex's higher close served not only as an accomplishment for the day, but also signaled a widespread level of confidence to the rest of the livestock complex as well. Traders were willing to advance the live cattle contracts by more than $1.00 through Tuesday's end even though no developments have emerged yet from the cash cattle market. Thankfully the day's slaughter pace of 125,000 head was encouraging, and traders hope that boxed beef prices will be stronger on Wednesday. April live cattle closed $1.30 higher at $180.70, June live cattle closed $1.52 higher at $174.85 and August live cattle closed $1.65 higher at $172.55. Bids and asking prices remain elusive.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 125,000 head -- 5,000 head more than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $0.02 ($302.09) and select down $0.37 ($299.90) with a movement of 146 loads (96.45 loads of choice, 22.23 loads of select, 7.79 loads of trim and 19.51 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Feedlots could be encouraged by the board's higher trend and may aim to move cattle at steady money this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Comforted by the corn market's $0.04 to $0.05 lower close, and by the live cattle complex's higher trend -- the feeder cattle contracts were able to close higher Tuesday afternoon. April feeders closed $1.40 higher at $240.70, May feeders closed $2.27 higher at $239.45 and August feeders closed $1.85 higher at $250.10. The spot May contract is still trading roughly $5.00 below the market's 100-day moving average, which will remain a significant target moving forward. Anxiousness has seemed to die down, but traders could take a while to build the market back up to where it was. The CME feeder cattle index 4/8/2024: not available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
Tuesday was just another hop, skip and jump for the lean hog complex as support remains incredible in the nearby lean hog contracts. With demand continuing to show steady interest in pork cuts, traders feel more than confident in the decision to continue to advance the contracts. Not to mention, today's cash market was rather impressive as over 7,000 head traded and the afternoon's weighted average price jumped $7.45. April lean hogs closed $0.85 higher at $90.60, June lean hogs closed $0.65 higher at $108.57 and July lean hogs closed $0.17 higher at $110.37. Pork cutouts totaled 291.17 loads with 256.38 loads of pork cuts and 34.79 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.38, $100.71. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 480,000 head -- 9,000 head less than a week ago and 2,000 head less than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 4/5/2024: up $0.74, $87.05.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady to somewhat lower. Seeing over 7,000 head trade on any given day in the cash hog market is rather unusual. Today's movement could mean that packers were short-bought, and the question just remains whether or not they're still in need.
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