GENERAL COMMENTS:
Friday ended up being a supportive day for the livestock complex as all three of the markets closed mostly higher. A few clean-up sales were noted in the South at $190, which is steady with the rest of the week's trade. December corn is up 3 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $4.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 288.73 points.
From Friday to Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: December live cattle down $3.22, February live cattle down $3.03; November feeder cattle down $1.70, January feeder cattle down $2.42; December lean hogs up $4.40, February lean hogs up $2.60; December corn down $0.01, March corn steady.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a long week getting to Friday's end, but thankfully by the day's closing bell, the live cattle complex did find some minor support. December live cattle closed $0.37 lower at $185.92, February live cattle closed $0.12 higher at $186.90 and April live cattle closed $0.35 higher at $187.70. Aside from the US election being next Tuesday, next week's market could be a doozy for the live cattle complex. Will traders jump back into the market and deem that there's been enough technical correction endured and send the contracts higher again? Or will a cautious tone linger throughout the complex as everyone waits to see who will become the 47th President of the United States? I suspect that traders could operate cautiously until some of the election buzz simmers, but as always, traders will likely rely heavily on the market's fundamentals to give them a clear direction. A couple of cash cattle sales were reported throughout the day, but prices held steady with the week's earlier trend. Throughout the week Southern live deals have been marked at mostly $190, generally steady with last week's weighted averages. Northern dressed sales have been mostly $296 to $298, steady to $3 lower than last week's weighted averages.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 119,000 head – 6,000 head more than a week ago and 4,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 6,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 615,000 head -- 8,000 head less than a week ago and 21,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $1.26 ($316.34) and select down $0.34 ($285.03) with a movement of 95 loads (50.37 loads of choice, 16.88 loads of select, 10.21 loads of trim and 17.22 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Lower. Packers were able to buy cattle this week for steady to $3.00 lower which will likely mean that they don't have to be as aggressive in next week's market.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Thankfully after a long week, the feeder cattle market was able to find some support by the week's end. November feeders closed $1.50 higher at $246.87, January feeders closed $1.87 higher at $243.20 and March feeders closed $2.07 higher at $241.15. The spot January contract even rallied up to the market's 100-day moving average, but traders quickly pulled the contract lower as there simply isn't enough support in the market currently to take on that kind of technical resistance. And I think it would be remiss of me not to mention that although the cattle contracts endured some pressure this past week -- demand remained incredible in the countryside for calves and feeders as the CME feeder cattle index danced mostly around $249 throughout the week which proves buyer support and interest. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that compared to last week feeder steers and heifers traded $1.00 to $2.00 higher and steer and heifer calves sold $1.00 to $5.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 52%. The CME feeder cattle index 10/31/2024: down $0.22, $250.98.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex yet again rallied throughout the day as the market's support is truly incredible. Between the resilient consumer demand this past week to the consistent and stable support of traders, the market had all it needed to continue to grind higher -- and grind higher it did! Throughout the week the nearby contracts scored new contract highs nearly daily as the market endured what seemed to be a near-perfect storm. The carcass price closed higher again this afternoon -- but today's advance was mostly because of the $6.73 jump in the belly, and the $4.55 jump in the ham. December lean hogs closed $0.27 higher at $84.07, February lean hogs closed $0.82 higher at $86.02 and April lean hogs closed $0.80 higher at $88.90. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $3.64 with a weighted average price of $79.06. Pork cutouts totaled 252.82 loads with 214.25 loads of pork cuts and 38.57 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.82, $103.97. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 484,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 3,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 219,000 head. The CME lean hog index 10/30/2024: up $1.15, $87.93.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. It's unlikely that packers will show the market much interest on Monday as packers rarely buy many hogs on the first trading day of the week.
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