Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Tuesday Closing Livestock Market Summary - Lean Futures Settle Mixed Thanks to Bull-Spreading and Profit-Taking

GENERAL COMMENTS:
The cash cattle trade existed only in theory Tuesday with bids and asking prices no better than guesswork. Better definition of price potential may not surface until Thursday or Friday. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.66 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($46-$51.41, weighted average $50.19). Corn futures ended fractionally mixed with slow action restricted to long-held price ranges. Equities closed 108 points higher on the Dow and about unchanged on the Nasdaq.
LIVE CATTLE:
Trading action here was essentially a yawner Tuesday with front-end contracts drifting 5 to 22 cents lower. Beef cut-outs closed mixed with the choice off $0.45 ($214.00) and select up $0.45 ($200.24). Box demand was called light-to-moderate demand and offerings.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL:
Steady/firm. We could start to see a few cash clues at midweek, but both buyers and sellers could easily keep their hand pocketed until the tail-end of the week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder futures closed moderately lower, generally off 15 to 72 cents. 2019 contracts were checked to some extent by the discount status of the cash index. CME cash feeder Index for 11/25: $148.17, up $0.65.
LEAN HOGS:
Either thanks to bull-spreading or the unwinding of bear spreads, lean issues settled on a mixed basis (i.e., up 47 cents to down 50 cents) with nearbys gaining on deferreds. Carcass value held essentially unchanged as stronger fresh cuts essentially offset weakness in processing items. The cut-out totaled $68.27, up $0.05 (DTN Projected lean index for 11/23: $57.44, off $0.40) CME cash lean index for 11/26: $57.17, off $0.27.
WEDNESDAY'S CASH HOG CALL:
Steady. The cash hog trade at midweek is expected to open near steady, assuming a rough supply-and-demand balance.


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