GENERAL COMMENTS:
It may have been a stressful week trying to keep up with the tariff developments, but the chaos seems to be dwindling from the marketplace as all three of the livestock contracts are trading higher into Friday's noon hour. Helping the cattle complex most, however, is the fact that Northern dressed cattle are trading at $315, which is $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average. May corn is up 4 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $0.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 283.50 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The market may have been stalemated throughout Thursday's trade as traders were waiting to see what direction the fed cash cattle market was going to trade. The wait was worth it. With most of the nearby contracts trading anywhere from $2.00 to $3.00 higher, traders are elated to again advance the contracts amid support from the cash cattle complex as Northern dressed cattle are traded at $315, which is $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average. The fundamental support from the cash sector has helped the spot April contract again conquer its 40-day moving average, which is a significant technical threshold. A few more bids are currently noted in Kansas at $198, but no more Southern trade has been noted following the light movement that happened earlier in the week. Earlier this week Southern live cattle were trading at $196 to $196, which is steady to $1.00 lower than last week's weighted average, but with the recent price uptick in the Norther -- there's a chance that Southern feedlots demand more money now too. April live cattle are up $3.62 at $199.90, June live cattle are up $3.27 at $195.90 and August live cattle are up $2.75 at $193.72.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.19 ($314.31) and select up $2.58 ($306.09) with a movement of 77 loads (66.70 loads of choice, 4.50 loads of select, no loads of trim and 5.41 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Thanks to the added support of the live cattle complex and the higher trade in the Northern fed cash cattle market, the feeder cattle contracts are now trading higher too. March feeders are up $2.37 at $276.40, April feeders are up $3.05 at $277.47 and May feeders are up $3.42 at $277.27. And so long as the support doesn't dimmish and leave the live cattle contracts, the feeder cattle market should be able to maintain this momentum through the day's close.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is continuing to trade higher as the market is pleased with the week's developments. With the delay in tariffs against Mexico and Canada for another month, Thursday's strong export report and today's higher pork cutout values -- the market possesses all the support it could hope for. April lean hogs are up $0.25 at $86.90, June lean hogs are up $1.45 at $98.47 and July lean hogs are up $1.62 at $99.97. Today's big jump in morning carcass price is mainly being influenced by the belly's $10.31 jump, but the ham is up $4.34 and the loin is up $3.07.
The projected lean hog index for 3/6/2025 is down $0.28 at $89.90, and the actual index for 3/5/2025 is down $0.02 at $90.18. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $88.69, ranging from $86.50 to $93.00 on 1,874 head and a five-day rolling average of $88.91. Pork cutouts totaled 175.07 loads, with 166.30 loads of pork cuts and 8.77 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $4.22, $100.71.
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