GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was another quiet day throughout the livestock complex as both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts closed lower, but the deferred lean hog contracts were able to round out the day slightly higher. Still no cash cattle trade has developed but it's likely that packer interest will improve by Thursday. Hog prices averaged $89.02 on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, ranging from $83.00 to $91.00 on 7,523 head. July corn is up 6 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $4.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 56.76 points.
**The markets will be closed on Wednesday, June 19 for Juneteenth, but will reopen as normal on Thursday morning. Regular DTN comments will resume Thursday morning.**
LIVE CATTLE:
Traders remained extremely cautious through Tuesday's end as they're hesitant to overly support the futures complex ahead of seeing what this week's cash cattle market ends up doing. June live cattle closed $0.37 lower at $186.67, August live cattle closed $0.70 lower at $182.10 and October live cattle closed $0.75 lower at $183.87. Asking prices are noted in the South at $189 but are still not established in the North. Wednesday's market will be closed for Juneteenth but will resume normal trading on Thursday and it's expected that packer interest will be more evident at that time. Given that showlists are still extremely current, feedlots are going to aim to sell cattle higher again this week.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 123,000 head -- steady with a week ago about 6,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $0.05 ($320.52) and select down $0.61 ($304.21) with a movement of 190 loads (122.78 loads of choice, 35.46 loads of select, 10.75 loads of trim and 20.94 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. I don't foresee cattle trading much lower than steady this week as feedlots can afford to simply roll over their showlists into next week's market and price them there if packers don't offer the money they're seeking.
FEEDER CATTLE:
With the live cattle contracts rounding out the day lower and the nearby corn contracts closing $0.04 to $0.06 higher, there was little room or opportunity for the feeder cattle contracts to round out the day higher. But again, that's not from a lack of fundamental support as feeder cattle sales continue to trend steady/higher in sales throughout the countryside as buyers know that supplies are thin this year. August feeders closed $1.37 lower at $259.95, September feeders closed $1.45 lower at $261.12 and October feeders closed $1.32 lower at $261.97. At Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma compared to last week, steers and heifers traded $4.00 to $9.00 higher with instances up to $15.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 77%. The CME feeder cattle index 6/17/2024: up $1.35, $257.07.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex was at least able to see some of its deferred contracts close higher which is more than the other livestock contracts can say. With stable demand continuing to be an issue for the market, the nearby contracts kept trading lower through the day's end given that domestic demand continues to be hit or miss. Afternoon pork cutout values did close slightly lower with the loin's $2.39 decrease being the biggest decrease seen throughout the individual cuts for today. July lean hogs closed $1.60 lower at $93.77, August lean hogs closed $0.30 lower at $91.57 and October lean hogs closed $0.17 higher at $78.40. Pork cutouts totaled 368.50 loads with 331.20 loads of pork cuts and 37.30 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.91, $98.03. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 482,000 head -- steady with a week ago and 15,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 6/14/2024: down $0.71, $90.73.
THURSDAY'S HOG CATTLE: Steady. Packers were more aggressive in this afternoon's trade but given that the market will be closed on Wednesday, packers may show Thursday's market slightly more interest as they won't want to go into next week's trade short bought.
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