GENERAL COMMENTS:
It's another day of lower tones for the livestock complex as the cattle market wasn't pleased with the day's export report and continues to struggle to find substantial support in the marketplace. No new cash cattle sales have been reported, but bids are on the table in both regions and more trade should develop ahead of Thursday's end. December corn is down 1 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $1.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 551.34 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 10,000 metric tons (mt) for 2024 were down 43% from the previous week and 27% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were South Korea (3,900 mt), Japan (1,900 mt) and Mexico (1,200 mt). Pork net sales of 34,600 mt for 2024 were up 10% from the previous and 24% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (14,800 mt), China (7,400 mt) and Japan (2,900 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
With no new cash cattle sales reported yet, the live cattle complex is continuing to trade lower as there's little to no support in this week's market following Monday's technical meltdown. August live cattle are down $0.02 at $182.25, October live cattle are down $0.82 at $178.42 and December live cattle are down $0.92 at $177.20. Bids are currently being offered in all regions, but no new sales have been reported just yet. Asking prices for cattle left in the South are firm at $188 to $190, and in the North at $308 plus. Thus far this week live deals in Kansas have been at $185 to $190.50, $2 lower to $2 higher than last week's weighted average, and dressed sales have been marked at $305, which is $5 lower than the prior week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.59 ($312.26) and select down $0.61 ($298.22) with a movement of 75 loads (47.16 loads of choice, 10.22 loads of select, 9.80 loads of trim and 8.25 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex is continuing to chop in its sideways lower trend as the market simply hasn't been able to recover from Monday's sharp decline in both a technical sense and also from a sheer morale perspective. I do find it interesting that while mayhem erupted in the futures market earlier this week, the CME Feeder Cattle Index continues to trade in a stable manner, only having slipped roughly $3.00 since Monday. Even so, traders don't seem to care that the market is still seeing rather supportive interest from buyers in the countryside, the futures market's only focus is on external pressures and what may lie ahead. August feeders are up $0.17 at $242.80, September feeders are down $0.62 at $238.27 and October feeders are down $1.27 at $236.80.
LEAN HOGS:
Even with a fairly supportive export sales report, the lean hog complex is again opting to trade lower as traders remain extremely cautious in the market late week. August lean hogs are down $0.70 at $89.90, October lean hogs are down $1.77 at $72.80 and December lean hogs are down $1.87 at $65.20. Some of trader cautiousness could be stemming from the fact that pork cutout values have been slightly softer as of late, and Thursday morning the biggest reason why the carcass price was pulled lower again was because of the bellies' $5.22 decline.
The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 8/7/2024 is down $0.30 at $92.80, and the actual index for 8/6/2024 is down $0.23 at $93.10. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $84.84, ranging from $80.00 to $86.50 on 2,293 head and a five-day rolling average of $84.47. Pork cutouts total 189.79 loads with 157.76 loads of pork cuts and 32.03 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.61, $98.35.
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