GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was another day of lower closes for the livestock complex as traders are keeping with their timid approach to the markets as both pork and beef demand following the Fourth of July holiday is less stable. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $3.41 with a weighted average price of $87.31 on 8,701 head. December corn is down 1 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $2.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 429.13 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex again closed lower, but at least the market didn't see the same level of decline as it did yesterday. August live cattle closed $0.10 lower at $182.25, October live cattle closed $0.10 lower at $183.20 and December live cattle closed $0.57 lower at $184.80. The futures complex's decline sparked some anxiousness amongst feedlot managers and unfortunately some cattle have already traded. Southern live cattle have traded at mostly $188 which is $4.00 lower than last week's weighted average and Northern dressed cattle are currently trading at $312 which is $2.00 lower than last week's weighted average.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 122,000 head -- 2,000 head less than a week ago and 5,000 head more than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $1.61 ($324.05) and select down $0.37 ($303.94) with a movement of 156 loads (88.36 loads of choice, 35.92 loads of select, 18.09 loads of trim and 14.07 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Given that cattle have now traded in both regions, it's likely that prices will hold steady with the week's trend.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Even though feeder cattle demand in the countryside is keeping cash feeder cattle prices strong, the board seems to be focused on one thing and one thing only -- the fact that the live cattle contracts are trading lower and that boxed beef prices have seasonally peaked. With that in mind the feeder cattle market spent the day trading lower not seeming to give any merit to the market's fundamentals. August feeders closed $1.37 lower at $254.35, September feeders closed $2.25 lower at $254.57 and October feeders closed $2.40 lower at $254.80. The CME feeder cattle index 7/9/2024: up $0.82, $258.15.
LEAN HOGS:
There were a few fundamental crumbles in which were positive for the lean hog market, but all in all, Wednesday's market was pressuring and concluded in a lower end. Yes, cash hog prices were down substantially, but it was interesting to see that following yesterday's big movement in the cash market were packers bought over 14,000 head of hogs that again today they bought aggressive in terms of volume as this afternoon's report showed 8,701 head sold. The other positive fundamental crumble that the market shared was that pork cutout values closed slightly higher -- mainly thanks to the $3.53 gain in the belly, but it wasn't enough to relieve some of the pressure in which the futures complex endured. August lean hogs closed $3.72 lower at $84.67, October lean hogs closed $2.45 lower at $68.32 and December lean hogs closed $1.57 lower at $62.25. Pork cutouts totaled 295.48 loads with 249.07 loads of pork cuts and 46.41 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.57, $94.32. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 477,000 head -- 6,000 head more than a week ago and 23,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 7/8/2024: down $0.33, $88.43.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. With packers having bought aggressively now two days in a row in the cash market, it's likely that they'll be less aggressive in the later half of the week.
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