GENERAL COMMENTS:
The day's trade may have been slow early on, but once the cash cattle market started to trade, traders turned the live cattle contracts higher to celebrate the good news. Meanwhile the lean hog and feeder cattle markets still both closed lower. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.72 with a weighed average price of $86.87 on 1,529 head. July corn is up 4 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $8.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 83.83 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 12,000 mt for 2024 were down 17% from the previous week and 28% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were South Korea (3,300 mt), Japan (3,000 mt) and Canada (1,400 mt). Pork net sales of 30,100 mt for 2024 were up 1% from the previous week but down 1% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (14,000 mt), Japan (4,200 mt) and Colombia (2,600 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
Once traders caught wind that some early live deals were being reported in the South at $186, which is $1.00 higher than last week's weighted average, traders changed their tone and allowed the contracts to rally. But that wasn't even the best part of the day -- later in the afternoon dressed cattle trade started to be reported at $305, which is $4.00 higher than last week's weighted average! This week's strong beginning in the cash cattle market is thanks to none other than feedlot managers as they continue to scrap for money. Packers would love to see the cash cattle market begin to trade lower, but feedlots haven't made that an easy victory for them this season. June live cattle closed $1.17 higher at $184.82, August live cattle closed $1.17 higher at $179.50 and October live cattle closed $0.65 higher at $181.70. Asking prices are noted at $187 to $188 in the South, and Northern asking prices continue to remain unestablished.
Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 122,000 head -- steady with a week ago but 3,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $0.71 ($318.31) and select up $0.32 ($299.25) with a movement of 129 loads (77.30 loads of choice, 28.52 loads of select, 10.13 loads of trim and 13.03 loads of ground beef).
FRIDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Given that trade has now developed in both regions, it's likely that the rest of the week's trade will trend steady with today's prices.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex closed mixed with the market's nearby contracts closely slightly lower while the deferred contracts were able to rally and round out the day on a higher note. August feeders closed $0.10 lower at $257.47, September feeders closed $0.17 lower at $258.30 and October feeders closed $0.12 lower at $258.72. It's odd that the nearby feeder cattle contracts still closed lower with the cash cattle market seeing early trade at higher money. It's likely that the feeder cattle complex will come around to trading higher on Friday once traders have more time to process the developments in the cash sector as fundamentally, the market continues to remain incredibly strong. At Winter Livestock Auction in Pratt, Kansas compared to last week feeder steers weighing 800 to 950 pounds sold $10.00 to $15.00 higher, and feeder heifers weighing 700 to 875 pounds sold steady. Slaughter cows sold $4.00 to $5.00 higher and slaughter bulls sold $2.00 to $3.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 98%. The CME feeder cattle index 6/12/2024: up $1.09, $255.86.
LEAN HOGS:
Even with a modestly supportive export sales report this morning, the lean hog complex still closed lower. July lean hogs closed $0.92 lower at $92.77, August lean hogs closed $1.35 lower at $88.60 and October lean hogs closed $1.32 lower at $75.72. More than anything Thursday's demise stemmed from the lack of domestic support as afternoon pork cutout prices fell lower once again. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that the market sees much change on Friday as the week's lower tone seems to be set. Pork cutouts totaled 271.14 loads with 249.35 loads of pork cuts and 21.79 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.99, $97.02. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 475,000 head -- 5,000 head more than a week ago and 18,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 6/11/2024: up $0.06, $91.38.
FRIDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given that today's afternoon prices were lower, it's likely that packers have fulfilled the bulk of their needs this week and that they'll pay little attention to Friday's cash market.
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