Monday, October 29, 2018

Monday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Cattle Futures Giving Back Gains

General Comments
Cattle markets have shown losses since shortly after the opening bell. The October live cattle contract has been the exception with higher price as it nears the last trading day Wednesday. Higher cash on Friday will increase the resolve of feedlots to set higher offers, hoping that packers will remain aggressive. Hogs have been on a roll the past 1 1/2 weeks, extending those gains in closer months. African swine fever stories continue to surface, adding support to prices.
Corn futures have been mixed trading on both sides of unchanged. Harvest progress is expected to show steady progress over the past week. The Dow is up 99 points at 24,788 while the Nasdaq is down 7 points at 7,160.
LIVE CATTLE:
October live cattle are converging to cash with the final trading day on Wednesday. This supports futures with it being the only contract showing gain. The rest of the complex is under pressure with prices hovering near the lows. The surge of futures on Friday is nearly being eliminated. Traders may be a little concerned cash cattle will be unable to sell at a higher price. Boxed beef cut-outs at midday are lower with (choice) down $0.48 and (select) down $0.47. Volume has been light with just 24 load reported (14 loads of choice cuts, 5 loads of select cuts, and 5 loads of ground beef.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle are struggling in December while later contracts are holding well. Spillover selling pressure from the weakness in live cattle has the November contract eliminating the gain of Friday. Futures seem to be carving out a trading range.
LEAN HOGS:
Futures continue trend higher as the market feeds on further reports of African swine fever. Strong support is confined to December and February contracts with last half of the year contracts posting losses. Cash prices are weaker on the National Direct morning cash report. The weighted average price is $56.42, down $0.91 per cwt with a range of $51-$57 on the sales of 7,857 head. The National Pork Plant report showed 113 loads selling. Pork carcass valued added $1.75 per cwt at $78.34 per cwt. Projected lean hog index for 10/26 is $64.16, down $0.45.


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