GENERAL COMMENTS:
The lean hog contracts close mixed, but the cattle contracts closed lower as the doggish morale around this week's cash cattle market weighs on the market. Hog prices closed higher on the National Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $1.93 with a weighted average of $84.68 on 15,299 head. May corn is down 2 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 345.95 points and NASDAQ is down 274.28 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle contracts traded lower as the cash cattle market continues to give up leverage and scale lower. April live cattle closed $0.85 lower at $118.55, June live cattle closed $0.70 lower at $116.97 and August live cattle closed $0.67 lower at $116.22. Thursday's cash cattle market was frustrating again as packers showed their dominance throughout the marketplace as they pushed the market lower from Wednesday's trade. There wasn't a whole lot of business that developed, but of the cattle that did trade, Northern cattle sold for $113 to $114 live and $180 dressed, and Southern cattle sold again for $114. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 121,000 head, steady with a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago.
Beef net sales of 22,600 mt reported for 2021 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 15% from the prior four-week average. The three primary increases were from South Korea (6,800 mt), China (2,400 mt) and Japan (3,800 mt).
Thursday's actual slaughter data came out for the week ending Feb. 20, which was when the nation's temperatures dropped and snow capped the South. Both steer and heifer weights dropped significantly! Steers averaged 909 pounds (down 10 pounds from the previous week) and heifers averaged 841 pounds (down 9 pounds from the previous week).
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $0.85 ($233.88) and select down $2.56 ($221.68) with a movement of 127 loads (73.84 loads of choice, 20.35 loads of select, 14.11 loads of trim and 18.24 loads of ground beef).
FRIDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady. At this point it looks like the bulk of the week's trade is done, and prices will most likely continue to trend within the week's already established ranges -- $113 to $114 live, and $180 dressed.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle contracts closed lower as the depressed mindset in the cash cattle market makes it hard for the feeder cattle contracts to get overly excited. March feeders closed $1.90 lower at $135.10, April feeders closed $2.32 lower at $138.97 and May feeders closed $1.92 lower at $142.65. At Clovis Livestock Auction in Clovis, New Mexico, compared to last week, steer calves under 500 pounds sold mostly $4.00 higher and those weighing 500 to 600 pounds sold $5.00 to $10.00 higher. Feeder calves weighing 600 to 700 pounds sold $1.00 lower while those weighing over 700 pounds sold $2.00 lower. Heifer calves under 600 pounds sold steady to $3.00 higher except the heifers weighing 300 to 400 pounds, which sold $5.00 lower, but the heifers weighing 400 to 450 pounds sold $10.00 higher and feeders over sold steady to $2.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold $5.00 lower while slaughter bulls sold $3.00 stronger as their quality was better. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for March 3: down $1.10, $136.07.
LEAN HOGS:
It was another wild day in the lean hog world: Cash prices secured another $1.93 gain on over 15,000 head, pork cutouts closed higher, Thursday's export report was strong and the futures market closed mixed. Pinpointing when the upward trend is going to fully scale lower will most likely be unveiled through packers' aggression in the cash market and slaughter speeds. But again, through Thursday's close, the market continues to trade on shaky ground, capturing gains while a correction lingers. April lean hogs closed $0.62 lower at $87.30, June lean hogs closed $0.12 lower at $94.72 and July lean hogs closed $0.17 lower at $95.30. Pork cutouts totaled 319.85 loads with 295.96 loads of pork cuts and 23.89 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.11, $93.52. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 495,000 head, 2,000 head less than a week and year ago. The CME Lean Hog Index for Feb. 2: up $0.64, $83.27.
Pork net sales of 59,600 mt reported for 2021 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 68% from the prior four-week average. The three primary increases were from China (28,000 mt), Mexico (14,500 mt) and Japan (4,600 mt).
Thursday's actual slaughter data came out for the week ending Feb. 20, which was when the nation's temperatures dropped and snow capped the South. Hog weights didn't change one bit as live weights held steady at 290 pounds and dressed weights held steady at 217 pounds.
FRIDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady. It's best to call the market steady as the excitement in the hog market could carry into next week, but it could just as easily sink lower, as packers bought a whopping 15,299 head Thursday afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment