GENERAL COMMENTS:
An absence of much volume Wednesday -- especially an absence of willing buyers -- has allowed livestock contracts to chop lower through the early part of the trading session, giving back much of the gains made previously in the week. Live cattle, feeder cattle and lean hog charts could all be characterized as sideways so far this week. December corn is up 7 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $1.70 per ton. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 36.29 points and NASDAQ is up 38.79 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle futures have been slightly lower so far Wednesday in light volume trade; traders are unwilling to even re-test Tuesday's highs, let alone last weeks. The December live cattle contract is down $0.70 at $110.625, the February contract is down $0.575 at $113.00, and the April contract is down $0.70 at $116.55. The cash cattle market continues to give hints that a steady tone in line with last week's numbers (mostly $172 dressed in the North and mostly $110 live in South) could be the path taken later this week when most cash trade will take place. For instance, the Fed Cattle Exchange Auction Wednesday showed 543 head sold in Texas at $110.25.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.81 ($235.53) and select up $0.33 ($214.29) with a movement of 92 loads (52.24 loads of choice, 15.77 loads of select, 4.68 loads of trim and 19.18 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Choppy price movement amid light trade has allowed feeder cattle futures to slip continually lower through the Wednesday session, giving back all of Tuesday's gains. The November contract is down $0.35 at $137.025, the January contract is down $2.35 at $137.375, and the March contract is down $2.125 at $137.05. Feeder cattle buyers in sale barns and at online auctions this week are characterized with moderate to good demand with awareness that next week's Thanksgiving holiday could limit business, and a continued friendly weather forecast for transportation logistics except in western Montana and Wyoming Wednesday.
LEAN HOGS:
Although other export-focused commodities, like soybeans and soybean meal, are still surging higher Wednesday while the U.S. Dollar Index slides lower, lean hog futures haven't been able to sustain a second straight day of such enthusiastic gains. The December contract is down $0.05 at $65.475, the February contract is unchanged at $65.625, and the April contract is down $0.725 at $68.50. More deferred contracts have given back nearly $1 of Tuesday's gains. While pork cutout values hold steady or improve, hog prices sold on a live and carcass basis continue to slide day by day. The projected lean hog index for 11/17/2020 isn't yet available due to packer submission issues, but the actual index for 11/16/2020 was down $0.35 at $69.73. For reference, Tuesday afternoon's hog report showed a weighted average of $58.66. Pork cutouts Wednesday morning total 239.05 loads with 194.66 loads of pork cuts and 44.39 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.34, $78.94.
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