GENERAL COMMENTS:
The lean hog complex was able to round out the day higher as traders were well supported by the morning's strong export report -- but the cattle complex came up short-handed as cash cattle sales have been reported at steady to $2.00 lower this week. December corn is up 5 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $2.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 243.63 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 17,200 metric tons (mt) for 2024 were up 8% from the previous week, but down 4% from the prior 4-week average. The three primary buys were Japan (5,400 mt), China (3,300 mt) and South Korea (1,900 mt). Pork net sales of 42,200 mt for 2024 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 59% from the prior 4-week average. The three primary buyers were Mexico (13,800 mt), China (11,500 mt) and South Korea (6,900 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
A swing and a miss -- Thursday didn't end up being the day that cattlemen hoped it would be as fed cash cattle prices traded steady to $2.00 lower. More than anything traders were reserved heading into Thursday's complex as they desperately wanted to see what the cash cattle market was going to do, and some were even hopeful that prices would trade fully steady. And feedlot managers were able to keep prices steady in the South where live cattle have again been marked at $183, but Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $292 which is $2.00 lower than last week's weighted average. From a technical standpoint, it's also disappointing to see the futures market trade lower as the gains seen earlier in the week were encouraging, but at this point, the market's rally early on seems to be dwindling. October live cattle closed $0.72 lower at $177.90, December live cattle closed $1.07 lower at $176.70 and February live cattle closed $1.57 lower at $177.40.
Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 123,000 head – 2,000 head more than a week ago and 1,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $1.37 ($308.66) and select down $1.44 ($296.19) with a movement of 170 loads (126.75 loads of choice, 22.24 loads of select, 6.76 loads of trim and 14.38 loads of ground beef).
FRIDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady with the week's trend. Given that cattle have now traded in both regions, it's likely that prices will hold steady with the week's trend.
FEEDER CATTLE:
It wasn't surprising to see the feeder cattle complex close lower as traders are currently refusing to support the feeder market if the live cattle complex is trading lower. September feeders closed $1.80 lower at $239.50, October feeders closed $1.90 lower at $236.67 and November feeders closed $1.97 lower at $234.40. And unfortunately, with the fed cash cattle market trading steady/$2.00 lower this week it's likely that Friday's trade could be pressured as well. The CME feeder cattle index 8/28/2024: up $0.01, $242.64.
LEAN HOGS:
As the only livestock market able to round out the day higher -- the lean hog complex kept its rallying nature through Thursday's end as traders were well supported with the morning's strong export sales report, and were pleased with better consumer demand this afternoon. October lean hogs closed $0.50 higher at $82.17, December lean hogs closed $0.62 higher at $72.55 and February lean hogs closed $0.50 higher at $75.00. The market softened around the noon hour, but quickly regained its footing and was able to pull off closing higher which aligns perfectly with the market's rallying nature this week. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.20 with a weighted average price of $76.55 on 1,710 head and a five-day rolling average of $79.29. Pork cutouts totaled 249.58 loads with 224.16 loads of pork cuts and 25.41 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.61, $95.89. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 485,000 head -- 3,000 head more than a week ago and 17,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 8/27/2024: down $0.37, $87.45.
FRIDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. At this point, it's safe to assume that the bulk of this week's cash hog trade is done with, and that Friday's market will only see minimal packer interest.
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