GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cattle complex is keeping with its lower trend as trades remain skeptical of the market at this point without having seen what the cash cattle market will do and still believing that the market is somewhat overbought. Bids have surfaced in the South at $190 live, and in the North at $295 dressed but no cattle have traded at this point. December corn is down 2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $0.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 157.54 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex continues to trade lower as traders are liquidating some market positions as they worry about the complex being overbought. I expect that some of this pressure will ease after the end of the month and money managers move some of their positions around, especially if market fundamentals continue to remain strong. Yes, boxed beef prices are seeing a little bit of pushback this week, but slaughter speeds are expected to remain aggressive and it's unlikely that feedlot managers let cattle trade for anything less than steady this week as their showlists are current which gives them leverage. Bids are beginning to pop up however as packers hope that the board's weakness will rattle some feedlot manager's confidence and push them into trading cattle early. Live bids of $190 are currently being offered in Kansas, Nebraska and Texas, and dressed bids of $295 are being offered in Nebraska. December live cattle are down $1.07 at $186.87, February live cattle are down $1.30 at $187.32 and April live cattle are down $1.30 at $187.80.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.09 ($319.52) and select down $0.50 ($289.46) with a movement of 104 loads (55.70 loads of choice, 31.47 loads of select, 8.13 loads of trim and 8.67 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
It's been another tough day for the feeder cattle market as the complex is trading mostly $1.00 to $2.00 lower as traders aren't willing to allow feeders to trade higher while the live cattle complex is uncertain. November feeders are down $1.22 at $245.37, March feeders are down $2.50 at $239.92 and April feeders are down $2.45 at $241.17. Demand continues to remain incredible in the countryside, but today's technical pressure continues to be all that the market is fixated on.
LEAN HOGS:
Once again, the lean hog complex is rocking and rolling as the day trades into Wednesday's noon hour. Continuing to be driven higher by excellent consumer demand, the nearby lean hog contracts are aggressively reaching new contract highs almost daily. If Thursday's export report isn't fruitful, the market could regress and trade slightly lower, but the market's morale is expected to be strong through the remainder of the day. December lean hogs are up $1.75 at $84.57, February lean hogs are up $0.70 at $86.07 and April lean hogs are up $0.30 at $88.07.
The projected lean hog index for 10/29/2024 is up $1.05 at $86.78, and the actual index for 10/28/2024 is up $0.18 at $85.73. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $85.94, ranging from $77.00 to $87.50 on 4,760 head and a five-day rolling average of $82.73. Pork cutouts total 140.94 loads with 127.39 loads of pork cuts and 13.54 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.23, $102.30.
No comments:
Post a Comment