GENERAL COMMENTS:
Even though traders are cautiously handling the cattle contracts Friday ahead of the weekend and the monthly Cattle on Feed report -- there's much to celebrate as fed cash cattle prices are trading anywhere from $3 to $7 higher. So far, Southern live cattle are trading at mostly $210, which is $7 higher than last week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle are trading at $212 to $214, which is $3 to $5 higher than last week's weighted average. May corn is down 6 1/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $1.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 61.42 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
After an incredible week of near non-stop upward momentum, the live cattle complex seems to be holding its breath or pausing its nearly unfathomable rally as the market is only hours away from the weekend and is patiently waiting to see what the Cattle on Feed (COF) Report yields. Regardless of what the COF report shows, one could argue that the rally in this week's fed cash cattle market will overpower whatever the COF report details. So far this week, the fed cash cattle market's movement has been thin, but prices have been hot. So far, Southern live cattle are trading at mostly $210, which is $7 higher than last week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle are trading at $212 to $214, which is $3 to $5 higher than last week's weighted average. It's rather incredible that on a week when throughput has been reduced because of weather conditions, that packers are still willing to advance the cash market $3 to $7 higher to ensure they have enough supply moving forward. Well done feedlot managers, well done!
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $2.15 ($325.91) and select up $0.28 ($209.64) with a movement of 86 loads (59.25 loads of choice, 5.41 loads of select, 6.10 loads of trim and 15.02 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Even though fed cash cattle prices are trading higher, traders are reluctant to advance the feeder cattle complex without the support of the live cattle contracts. March feeders are down $0.10 at $288.25, April feeders are down $1.25 at $287.20 and May feeders are down $1.47 at $287.62. Friday's weaker technical performance isn't due to any fundamental rhyme or reason, but rather because traders are questioning how much higher the market can actually trade, and as they wait to see what this afternoon's Cattle on Feed report unveils.
LEAN HOGS:
After a challenging week, the lean hog complex has finally found some support as its contracts are trading higher into Friday's noon hour. April lean hogs are up $1.22 at $86.77, June lean hogs are up $2.10 at $98.32 and July lean hogs are up $1.90 at $99.47. It is helpful that again Friday, pork cutout values are higher, which is stemming from a healthy blend of higher prices across nearly all the cuts.
The projected lean hog index for 3/20/2025 is down $0.32 at $88.88, and the actual index for 3/19/2025 is down $0.21 at $89.20. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $2.14 with a weighted average price of $88.26, ranging from $85.00 to $90.00 on 3,849 head and a five-day rolling average of $89.47. Pork cutouts total 236.90 loads with 218.82 loads of pork cuts and 18.08 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.48, $98.34.
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