Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Tuesday Closing Livestock Market Update - Cattle Rebound Following Monday's Lower Close

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The livestock complex closed mixed as the cattle contracts found ample support in today's market which mostly was derived from the continued support of strong box prices. Meanwhile, the lean hog complex closed mixed as traders wanted to trade the market fully higher but didn't so as pork prices remain volatile. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $2.91 with a weighted average price of $91.65 on 14,713 head. December corn is up 3/4 cent per bushel and December soybean meal is down $4.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 162.33 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

The live cattle complex had a recovering day as the market found technical support following Monday's lower close thanks to the continued support of strong boxed beef prices. Still no cash cattle trade has developed yet, and there's a chance that the week's movement will be thin given that it's a holiday week and that slaughter speeds will be cut and that packers are desperate to get ahead of the cash cattle market. But on the other hand, there will still need to be some trade done this week as packers can't afford to be short bought in the market as showlists are thin and they're still in need of cattle. No bids or asking prices have been posted, and at this point it's looking like the week's trade will be delayed until Friday. August live cattle closed $0.82 higher at $185.10, October live cattle closed $1.50 higher at $185.65 and December live cattle closed $2.10 higher at $187.65. 

Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 118,000 head -- 3,000 head less than a week ago and incomparable to a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $1.21 ($330.39) and select up $0.07 ($306.48) with a movement of 115 loads (60.77 loads of choice, 25.56 loads of select, 7.93 loads of trim and 20.73 loads of ground beef).

WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Given that it's a holiday week, packers are likely going to try to get cattle bought for nothing more than steady prices.

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex only grew stronger the longer the day traded on, as traders regained focus on just how strong the market's fundamentals are and remembered that even though it's a holiday week, the market's fundamentals still carry the same amount of clout as before. August feeders closed $3.72 higher at $261.10, September feeders closed $3.37 higher at $261.32 and October feeders closed $3.27 higher at $261.45. Feeder cattle sales are extremely limited this week as most sale barns are closed for the Fourth of July holiday. The CME feeder cattle index 7/1/2024: not available at this time.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex closed mixed with the market's nearby contracts able to close slightly higher while the deferred contracts sank modestly lower through the day's close. Traders are keeping the contracts trading in a sideways trading range as they're not confident in which way the market should trade. The afternoon's carcass price was pushed lower and done so mostly by the rib's $4.46 decline. It was odd to see that packers bought over 14,000 in the cash market today which never happens -- a typical big day in the cash market is 5,000 to 6,000 head -- but it's rarely that big on any given day. Pork cutouts totaled 262.83 loads with 217.24 loads of pork cuts and 45.58 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.09, $94.32. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 471,000 head -- 10,000 head less than a week ago and incomparable to a year ago. The CME lean hog index 6/28/2024: down $0.30, $89.17.

WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given that packers bought over 14,000 head this afternoon, it's likely that they're not active in the cash market at all the rest of the week.




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