GENERAL COMMENTS:
Wednesday was the boost of energy that the live cattle contracts needed and was a shot of hope for southern feedlots that are yet to sell cattle this week. Meanwhile, the feeder cattle market kept rallying in its typical, confident fashion this week, but the lean hog contracts wound up short on trader interest and closed lower in nearby contracts. Hog prices were unchanged on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, steady with a weighted average of $53.64 on 10,816 head. March corn is up 2 1/2 cents per bushel and January soybean meal is up $6.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 44.77 points and NASDAQ is up 63.13 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was hard for live cattle contract enthusiasts to watch the support that was rallying the feeder cattle and lean hog contracts earlier this week, but, thankfully, with Wednesday's arrival came support for the live cattle contracts. December live cattle closed $0.17 higher at $108.77, February live cattle closed $0.90 higher at $113.77 and April live cattle closed $0.70 higher at $117.82. The support seen throughout the futures market helped keep southern feedlots at bay from accepting lower bids on their cattle this week. Meanwhile, trade in the North was seen Wednesday from $165 to $167 ($3.00 to $5.00 softer than a week ago). The South has yet to trade any cattle and their asking prices remain firm at $110. It's not very often that we see southern feedlots wait to trade until Thursday, so maybe the week we could see some steady deals after all. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 120,000 head, steady with a week ago and 4,000 head less than a year ago. Tuesday's cattle slaughter was revised to 117,000 head.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $1.60 ($207.22) and select down $0.11 ($192.09) with a movement of 143 loads (83.55 loads of choice, 25.55 loads of select, 2.93 loads of trim and 31.30 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady to slightly lower. This year's cash cattle trade has been gruesome and seeing cattle trade in the North for $3.00 to $5.00 lower is painful, but better days lay on the horizon. With there being plenty of cattle to pick and choose from it's going to be tough to hold the market steady but it's unusual to see southern feedlots hold out until this late in the week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The spot January feeder cattle contract was leery of closing above the $141 threshold, but the other nearby contracts are well above $141 and closed comfortably. January feeders closed $0.75 stronger at $140.85, March feeders closed $1.07 higher at $141.97 and April feeders closed $1.07 stronger at $143.25. It helped to see complimentary support rally in the live cattle market, but this week's feeder cattle support has been strong and the market hasn't needed encouraged to trade higher. At St. Joseph Stockyards in St. Joseph, Missouri, compared to a week ago, feeder steers weighing 450 to 600 pounds sold steady to $1.00 lower, 600- to 700-pound steers sold steady and steers weighing 700 to 750 pounds sold $2.00 to $3.00 higher. Feeder heifers weighing 400 to 600 pounds sold $1.00 to $3.00 lower, all other weights were too lightly tested to find an accurate measure, but weaker undertones were noted. Again, there was good demand found at this week's sale with a moderate supply available. The CME feeder cattle index for Dec. 15: down $0.05, $136.64.
LEAN HOGS:
After trading higher earlier this week, traders let the lean hog complex sit idly throughout Wednesday's trade. Nearby contracts closed slightly lower but deferred contracts found minor support. The market is in crossroads with the futures market and fundamental factors. If fundamental support could help the cutout values and cash market, the futures market has some room to continue to trade too, but without fundamental support, traders aren't willing to stick their necks out on the line to see the market need a correction in the near future. February lean hogs closed $0.47 lower at $65.97, June lean hogs closed $0.05 lower at $80.07 and July lean hogs closed $0.20 lower at $80.77. Pork cutouts totaled 284.76 loads with 254.72 loads of pork cuts and 30.03 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.72, $74.86. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 483,000 head, 13,000 head less than a week and year ago. Tuesday's hog slaughter was revised to 492,000 head. The CME lean hog index for Dec. 14: up $0.10, $65.06.
THURSDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Lower. With Wednesday's slaughter being slightly weaker, packers most likely won't want to jump into more hogs and move the cash market higher before the Christmas holiday.
No comments:
Post a Comment