GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a gloomy day for the livestock complex as the entire marketplace closed lower. The biggest hitting news however was China's announcement that they will not be accepting any beef from the JBS processing plant in Greely, Colorado as traces of ractopamine were found -- which obviously had a negative effect on the cattle complex. Given that it's a holiday-shortened week, exports won't be posted on Thursday this week, but instead on Friday. Hog prices closed lower higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $1.22 with a weighted average price of $89.05 on 6,204 head. July corn is down 7 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $7.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 411.32 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Upon hearing that China has blocked beef shipments from JBS's plant in Greely, Colorado because traces of ractopamine were found in some of the beef set to be shipped to China, the wind was sucked right out of the cattle complex's sail. June live cattle closed $1.20 lower at $183.35, August live cattle closed $1.62 lower at $180.20 and October live cattle closed $1.95 lower at $182.45. Still no cash cattle trade has developed, but asking prices are noted in the South at $189 to $191. Some trade could begin to develop on Thursday, but it wouldn't be surprising to see trade wait until Friday to really begin.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 125,000 head -- 3,000 head more than a week ago and 1,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $1.50 ($313.62) and select down $0.95 ($302.48) with a movement of 140 loads (92.22 loads of choice, 23.10 loads of select, 7.31 loads of trim and 17.79 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to $2.00 higher. Feedlot managers continue to possess the lion's share of the market's leverage as showlists are extremely current and if packers don't offer the bids in which managers would like to see -- they can afford to roll their showlists over to the next week and wait for prices to get better.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex reacted most drastically to JBS's announcement, as the market gave back all the position it conquered through Tuesday's trade. August feeders closed $4.35 lower at $260.25, September feeders closed $3.90 lower at $261.80 and October feeders closed $3.70 lower at $262.55. The market is currently hovering right at its 100-day moving average, which continues to be a threshold that signals whether or not traders are feeling bullish and optimistic about the market's near future. The CME feeder cattle index 5/28/2024: up $0.05, $248.68.
LEAN HOGS:
Try as it might, not even the lean hog complex was able to keep its market trading higher through Wednesday's end. Again, it didn't help matters that the afternoon cutout price closed lower -- which was a collective decision as the belly closed $4.08 lower, the loin closed $3.95 lower and the rib closed $3.94 lower. But with demand continuing to be an issue for the complex, traders stood little chance at truly advancing the market without cutout values closing higher. June lean hogs closed $0.02 lower at $93.77, July lean hogs closed $0.20 lower at $96.32 and August lean hogs closed $0.20 lower at $95.90. Pork cutouts totaled 309.40 loads with 266.96 loads of pork cuts and 42.44 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.66, $101.74. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 488,000 head -- 4,000 head more than a week ago and 11,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 5/24/2024: down $0.37, $91.26.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Packers have shown a little more aggression in this week's cash hog market as they were likely short bought, but at some point, they're going to have their weekly needs fulfilled.
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