GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex isn't having a bell-ringing Wednesday as the livestock contracts trend mostly lower. Some cash cattle trade has started to develop, but it's been modest to start the day. More cattle are expected to trade Wednesday afternoon and even Thursday. December corn is down 9 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $2.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 76.71 points and NASDAQ is up 10.14 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The cash cattle market has seen some trade develop in Kansas, as well as Nebraska; otherwise the market has been mostly quiet elsewhere. In Kansas packers are getting live cattle bought from $120 to $122; in Nebraska cattle are selling dressed at $198, with live bids being offered at $124. The market still hasn't seen a significant volume of cattle trade, but it's a flip of the coin as to whether packers will be aggressive in this week's market. There are more market-ready cattle available in the South than there are in the North. But looking to the weeks ahead, packers fear supplies may wane in both regions. It's most likely packers will modestly support the cash market in the weeks to come and continue to pad their inventory with some deferred purchases. The board isn't favoring feedlots as it trails lower, but feedlots look at the deferred months strength and pray it isn't all sold away. August live cattle are down $2.27 at $120.12, October live cattle are down $1.95 at $126.20 and December live cattle are down $1.47 at $131.07.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.08 ($287.76) and select down $0.40 ($262.91) with a movement of 95 loads (50.26 loads of choice, 30.30 loads of select, 6.74 loads of trim and 7.61 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle futures would love to continue their upward surge, but the market has stagnated in its tracks, feeling resistance from the board. August feeders are down $1.72 at $158.90, September feeders are down $1.85 at $160.87 and October feeders are down $1.70 at $162.82. The corn market is still trading mildly lower as corn producers anticipate moisture and cooler temperatures over the next 10 days. The feeder cattle market hasn't been able to rely much on the live cattle market for support, so it's biggest driving factor has been the regression in the corn market and ambitious buyers throughout the countryside. Wednesday's regression comes as traders wonder if the market is strong enough to support blowing past the resistance at $160.
LEAN HOGS:
Hog futures aren't having much success in nearby contracts as the market continues to chop sideways with weaker undertones fully noted. July lean hogs are down $1.17 at $108.75, August lean hogs are down $1.82 at $100.52 and October lean hogs are down $0.37 at $84.07. The cash hog market isn't finding much support at all as packers aren't interested in hustling the countryside to find hogs and will likely continue to run chain speeds of around 470,000 head per day. The market could see some interest develop later in July toward the first of August as packers gear up for Labor Day. But until then, why drive the market higher and hurt their own margins? Hogs are still making their way down from Canada into the U.S. market, which is also making it easier for packers to find adequate supplies.
The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 7/6/2021 is down $0.64 at $110.13, and the actual index for 7/2/2021 is down $0.44 at $110.77. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.26 with a weighted average of $108.80 on 4,349 head, ranging from $104.00 to $115.00 and a five-day rolling average of $109.12. Pork cutouts total 147.99 loads with 130.84 loads of pork cuts and 17.16 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.48, $116.09.
No comments:
Post a Comment