GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a fantastic day for the livestock complex as all three of the contracts closed higher. Potentially the biggest news for the day was that cash prices were able to trade higher, which sparked the spot April contract to again trade above its 40-day moving average. May corn is up 5 1/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $0.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 199.58 points.
From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: April live cattle up $7.63, June live cattle up $7.70; March feeder cattle up $2.00, April feeder cattle up $5.15; April lean hogs up $3.68, June lean hogs up $3.08; March corn up $0.02, May corn unchanged.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex was where Friday's action mainly took place as the fed cash cattle market outperformed expectations, which thankfully had a positive effect on the futures contracts as well. Not long before the day's noon hour, dressed cattle were reported in Nebraska at $315, which is $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average. And even though some light cash cattle trade was reported in the South earlier this week, the positive news of higher trade in the North helped spark some higher trade in the Southern plains on Friday as well. Some light scattered business was reported in Kansas this afternoon at $198, which is $1.00 higher than last week's weighted average. It would be remiss to neglect to highlight the fact that the jump in cash prices helped the spot April contract again conquer its 40-day moving average. April live cattle closed $4.00 higher at $200.27, June live cattle closed $3.85 higher at $196.47 and August live cattle closed $3.37 higher at $194.35.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 108,000 head -- 1,000 head more than a week ago and 12,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 3,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated to be around 578,000 head -- 12,000 head more than a week ago and 5,000 head less than a year ago.
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat higher. It's likely feedlot managers will again try to advance next week's cash market.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Upon seeing both the live cattle contracts trade higher and trade be reported $1.00 to $2.00 higher today in the fed cash cattle market, traders didn't bat an eye about advancing the feeder cattle contracts. March feeders closed $2.95 higher at $276.97, April feeders closed $3.72 higher at $278.15 and May feeders closed $4.35 higher at $278.20. Thankfully, traders were keenly watching the market, and when support began to appear, they were charged and fully engaged in the market, which allowed feeders to close sharply higher ahead of the weekend. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that compared to last week, feeder steer and heifers traded mostly $2.00 to $7.00 lower, but lightweight stocker calves did trade mostly $2.00 to $10.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 74%. The CME feeder cattle index 3/6/2025: down $2.32, $273.77.
LEAN HOGS:
By the end of the week, the lean hog complex had all the support it could ever wish for. Trump announced on Thursday tariffs for Mexico and Canada would be delayed for another month, traders grew optimistic about supporting the futures complex again and domestic demand for pork improved as cutout values closed higher Friday afternoon. In terms of cutout demand, it was especially encouraging to see that carcass price wasn't swayed by a big jump in the belly. Instead, every single major cut closed higher this afternoon, which is a good indication of strong demand. April lean hogs closed $0.70 higher at $87.35, June lean hogs closed $1.07 higher at $98.10 and July lean hogs closed $0.97 higher at $99.32. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.88 with a weighted average price of $88.89 on 2,781 head. Pork cutouts totaled 314.71 loads, with 288.31 loads of pork cuts and 26.40 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.87, $98.36. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 485,000 head -- 5,000 head more than a week ago and 44,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 116,000 head. The CME lean hog index 3/5/2025: down $0.02, $90.18.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. It's unlikely that packers will show much interest in the cash market on Monday as they'll likely want to see what demand shapes up to be before they buy in the cash sector.
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