Wednesday's WASDE report held mostly bullish news for cattle and hog industries, though the markets did have to absorb the notion of higher imports and steady to weaker exports. Some cash cattle trade is beginning to develop at steady money, though feedlots would like to see prices fully stronger. March corn is up 9 1/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $4.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 286.49 points and NASDAQ is up 211.68 points.
LIVE CATTLE:Live cattle futures have grown stronger as the day trades on and are fully higher heading into Wednesday afternoon. February live cattle are up $0.55 at $142.52, April live cattle are up $1.10 at $147.27 and June live cattle are up $0.75 at $142.00. The cash cattle market has seen some interest at mostly steady prices in the North at $140. Feedlots are hopeful to get even higher prices as asking prices in the South sit at $142 to $143, and in the North at $224 to $225. So long as the market doesn't begin to trend lower, the futures market should continue to trade strong as cash demand held at least steady. More trade should develop by the day's end.
The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction listed a total of 1,996 head, of which 35 head actually sold, none were scratched from the auction and 1,961 head were listed as unsold, as they did not meet the reserve prices, which ranged from $139 to $142. Opening prices ranged from $137 to $138, high bids ranged from $138 to $139.25. The state-by-state breakdown looks like this: Texas 1,841 total head, all of which went unsold; Kansas 120 total head, all of which went unsold; California 35 total head, all of which sold at $139.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.11 ($276.35) and select down $0.78 ($273.06) with a movement of 75 loads (53.65 loads of choice, 10.57 loads of select, 4.96 loads of trim and 6.02 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:Even though the corn and soybean markets are rallying, the feeder cattle complex is charging full steam ahead into Wednesday afternoon. March feeders are up $1.47 at $168.35, April feeders are up $0.85 at $172.62 and May feeders are up $0.82 at $176.80. Wednesday's WASDE report was encouraging to the feeder cattle sector as the third and fourth quarter price projections grew by $1.00 (third quarter) and $2.00 (for the fourth quarter). Feedlots are having to be ultra-aware about their breakevens given how high input prices are. But, thankfully beef production also grew stronger on the WASDE report which should mean packers are going to continue to keep chain speeds running full bore. Receipts of calves selling in sales Wednesday are light again and will likely continue to be that way through the remainder of the week.
LEAN HOGS:Up, up and away! The lean hog complex continues to rally on the fact that hog supplies are thin and demand is robust. April lean hogs are up $0.67 at $104.47, June lean hogs are up $1.25 at $114.00 and July lean hogs are up $1.37 at $112.85. Wednesday's WASDE report was incredibly exciting for hog producers as all four quarters of the year grew anywhere from $2.00 to $7.00 stronger from January's report. The first quarter barrow and gilt prices are expected to average $63.00; the second quarter is expected to average $70.00; the third quarter is expected to average $67.00; and the fourth quarter is anticipated to average $60.00. Wednesday's midday pork cutout value was up a whopping $10.00, so finding where pork cutout values land by the afternoon will be insightful.
The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 2/8/2022 is up $0.60 at $87.22 and the actual index for 2/7/2022 is up $0.75 at $86.62. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.21 with a weighted average of $75.37, ranging from $72.00 to $93.00 on 3,731 head and a five-day rolling average of $76.99. Pork cutouts total 172.87 loads with 157.34 loads of pork cuts and 15.52 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $10.02, $107.31.
No comments:
Post a Comment