GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex didn't see much support from traders throughout the day, but if fundamental support shows up later this week, there's a chance that traders could become more willing to participate in the market. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas, somewhat smaller in Texas and lower in Nebraska/Colorado. May corn is up 4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $0.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 417.86 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was an uneventful day for the live cattle complex as the market merely drifted lower as traders continue to wait to see what's going to develop this week fundamentally. Given that just last week the spot June contract scored yet another new contract high, it's likely that traders will respect that new technical top unless something wild breaks out in the fed cash cattle market. But with packers having been able to buy over 140,000 head in the last two weeks and commit those cattle to the nearby delivery, feedlot managers may be harder pressed to get cattle sold at higher prices this week. April live cattle closed $1.02 lower at $207.80, June live cattle closed $1.20 lower at $203.65 and August live cattle closed $0.97 lower at $200.02. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Kansas, somewhat smaller in Texas and lower in Nebraska/Colorado. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 104,000 head -- 15,000 head less than a week ago and 4,000 head less than a year ago.
Last week Southern live cattle traded at mostly $209 to $210 which is steady to $1.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle traded at $335 which is steady with the previous week's weighted average as well, but regional packers paid as much as $345 which is $10.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 62,630 head. Of that 94% (58,853 head) were committed to the nearby delivery option while the remaining 6% (3,777 head) were committed to the deferred delivery option.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $2.44 ($335.26) and select up $1.33 ($320.01) with a movement of 120 loads (71.19 loads of choice, 21.78 loads of select, 7.42 loads of trim and 19.29 loads of ground beef).
TUESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady/somewhat lower. Last week's slaughter was aggressive, but packers have been tactfully adding more inventory up around them. This week's fed cash cattle market could be partly driven by how consumers affect boxed beef prices.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Mirroring the attitude and sediment in the live cattle complex, the feeder cattle contracts rounded out the day lower. April feeders closed $0.47 lower at $286.45, May feeders closed $0.67 lower at $284.50 and August feeders closed $0.17 lower at $289.50. Over the last two weeks, the feeder cattle complex has followed closely in line with whatever the live cattle market does, and this trend likely remains prevalent this week as well. At Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri compared to last week and at their midsession point, feeder steers under 800 pounds were trading steady to $8.00 lower but the heavier weighted steers were trading steady to $2.00 higher. Feeder heifers were selling steady to $7.00 lower. The CME feeder cattle index 3/28/2025: up $4.74, $291.50.
LEAN HOGS:
The feeder cattle complex continues to face technical resistance at $98.00 in the spot June contract. The market traded higher Friday afternoon but ultimately closed lower which was the sediment throughout the complex again today. There's a chance that the market will trade better later this week if pork cutout values continue to trade higher. The carcass price was mostly influenced by the ham's $2.20 jump this afternoon. April lean hogs closed $1.02 higher at $87.72, June lean hogs closed $0.50 lower at $95.27 and July lean hogs closed $0.77 lower at $95.82. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.19 with a weighted average price of $88.49 on 4,200 head. Pork cutouts totaled 231.56 loads with 197.27 loads of pork cuts and 34.29 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.89, $97.45. Monday's slaughter is estimated 469,000 head -- 4,000 head less than a week ago and 109,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 3/27/2025: down $0.35, $88.78.
TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Packers will likely be active in Tuesday's cash market as they still need to procure more supply for the week.
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