Thursday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Optimism Through Livestock Complex

General Comments

Thursday has rallied some modest support throughout the entire livestock complex and contracts are trading steadily higher at midday. The marketplace seems to be rather accepting of the upward movement and Thursday morning's export report only helped boost the market's morale as China did buy some U.S. pork and beef sales were higher. July corn is up 5 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $4.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 14.67 points and NASDAQ is down 39.98 points.

LIVE CATTLE

Live cattle contracts are rallying with the rest of the marketplace except for the spot June contract, which is faced with some resistance. June live cattle are down $0.05 at $95.40, August live cattle are up $0.10 at $97.45 and October live cattle are up $0.55 at $100.52. As Thursday approaches the noon hour, the bids that are on the tables are significantly lower than prices earlier in the week. In Kansas, live cattle are bid at $105, and in Nebraska, dressed cattle are bid at $175.

Beef net sales of 12,300 mt were reported for 2020, which was up 7% from the previous week and up 97% from the prior four-week average. The three main increases were from South Korea (4,300 mt including decreases of 300 mt), Japan (4,200 mt including decreases of 500 mt) and Canada (1,500 mt).

Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $19.00 ($276.90) and select down $11.82 ($264.96) with a movement of 71 loads (43.02 loads of choice, 11.57 loads of select, 6.97 loads of trim and 9.75 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE

Feeder cattle contracts are enjoying Thursday's rally as the market moves $0.65 to $0.85 higher. August feeder cattle are up $0.72 at $134.95, September feeder cattle are up $0.70 at $136.47 and October feeder cattle are up $0.72 at $137.30. As the market continues to trend higher, the 40-day moving average sits at $124.30 and the 100-day moving average sits at $128.58.

LEAN HOGS

The lean hog contracts are rallying along cattle contracts taking Thursday's boost as a midweek surprise. The spot June contract fights some pressure but the rest of the contracts trade steadily higher with ease. June lean hogs are down $0.32 at $48.32, July lean hogs are up $0.72 at $54.22 and August lean hogs are up $1.20 at $56.05.

Pork net sales of 17,300 mt were reported for 2020 and were down 16% from the previous week and down 5% from the prior four-week average. The three main increase were from Mexico (8,500 mt including decreases of 100 mt) China (3,400 mt including decreases of 1,400 mt) and Japan (3,100 mt including decreases of 300 mt).

The projected lean hog index for 6/3/2020 is down $1.68 at $55.38 and the actual index for 6/2/2020 is down $2.17 at $57.06. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.87 with a weighted average of $32.92, ranging from $28.00 to $35.12 on 3,910 head and a five-day rolling average of $34.63. Pork cutouts total 220.22 loads with 202.72 loads of pork cuts and 17.50 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $4.02, $79.03.

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