GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a quiet day for the livestock complex as the board struggled as traders worried about the markets being overbought, which consequently led to all three of the markets rounding out the day lower. Asking prices are noted in the South at $189 to $190 but remain unestablished still in the North. December corn is down 7 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $3.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 324.80 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a lackluster day for the live cattle complex, though boxed beef prices closed higher. Traders were more concerned with the market's technical position than they were with assessing how fundamental support was encouraging. We knew that at some point traders were likely going to liquidate some of their positions from the market as technically speaking the market is overbought. This is likely the main reason why we're currently seeing the downtrend in cattle even though all fundamental indicators remain supportive. The next real question that the market must answer is -- how much lower does the market become before traders feel comfortable with their positions? October live cattle closed $1.52 lower at $186.72, December live cattle closed $1.40 lower at $186.52 and February live cattle closed $1.30 lower at $187.40. No cash cattle trade developed throughout the day but asking prices are noted at $189 to $190 in the South but are still unestablished in the North.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 125,000 head -- 1,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $3.51 ($316.83) and select up $2.99 ($292.09) with a movement of 136 loads (82.06 loads of choice, 27.65 loads of select, 6.14 loads of trim and 19.76 loads of ground beef).
WEDNEDSAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Given that packers were able to buy some cattle with time last week likely means that prices will be steady this week with the reduction in throughput.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex endured a mixed day as the market's technical and fundamental indicators moved in opposite directions. Throughout the day the board struggled considerably as traders wanted the live cattle contracts to trade lower and react exaggeratively. Meanwhile, feeder cattle demand in the countryside continues to be exceptional. More than anything, today's weakness throughout the board for both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts seem to be a technical reset as traders know the market is somewhat technically overbought and are reacting upon that realization. October feeders closed $2.60 lower at $246.52, November feeders closed $3.10 lower at $246.47 and January feeders closed $3.37 lower at $244.22. At Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri compared to last week, feeder steer sunder 525 pounds sold $2.00 to $10.00 higher and heavier weights sold steady to $3.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold anywhere from $5.00 lower to $6.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 64%. The CME feeder cattle index 10/14/2024: down $0.72, $249.89.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex drifted lower throughout the day as the market felt the same technical pressure that the cattle complex also endured, but then was disappointed with the day's lower close in pork cutout values. December lean hogs closed $0.57 lower at $75.22, February lean hogs closed $0.52 lower at $79.30 and April lean hogs closed $0.40 lower at $83.80. Unfortunately, most of the cuts on the afternoon cutout report showed weaker closes which isn't a good sign of consumer demand. It's likely that the complex could pressure again on Wednesday as traders are desperately going to need fundamental reassurance and currently the market isn't producing much fundamental confidence. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $2.33 with a weighted average price of $76.80 on 4,410 head. Pork cutouts totaled 416.39 loads with 335.62 loads of pork cuts and 80.77 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.57, $94.40. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 487,000 head -- 3,000 head more than a week ago and 6,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 10/11/2024: down $0.13, $84.16.
WEDNEDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. It's likely that packers will need to buy moderately again in Wednesday's market as they haven't purchased many hogs this week.
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