GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a mixed day throughout the livestock complex, as both the pork and beef markets were able to move a lot of product throughout the day, but the cattle complex faced pushback technically. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.41 with a weighted average of $97.89 on 10,957 head. December corn is down 5 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $4.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 435.98 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle market had a pullback kind of day as the futures market ran out of steam while it waits for cash cattle to really trade this week. After powering higher late last week and early this week, the futures complex seemed to need to pause before it works higher. October live cattle closed $0.80 lower at $144.25, December live cattle closed $0.80 lower at $150.07 and February live cattle closed $0.70 lower at $154.50. Another positive thing about Wednesday's market was the huge movement in boxed beef product. After retailers sold aggressively over the three-day weekend, they're now restocking. The cash cattle market didn't see much interest throughout Wednesday's market as feedlots and packers are in a deadlock. Feedlots know that packers need to buy cattle in order to keep from getting short-bought, but packers also know that if there's a time to pump the breaks on this year's cash cattle market, now is the time to do so.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 128,000 head, 3,000 head more than a week ago and 6,000 head more than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $0.87 ($261.34) and select down $1.79 ($237.51) with a movement of 218 loads (121.05 loads of choice, 42.46 loads of select, 23.11 loads of trim and 30.94 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL: Steady to $2.00 higher. Given that feedlots are playing hard ball, it's not unlikely that prices trade slightly higher as packers need to buy cattle to keep from becoming short-bought.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle market was hesitant, but as weakness started to spread throughout the live cattle complex, feeders plunged lower. September feeders closed $2.15 lower at $182.02, October feeders closed $2.15 lower at $183.95 and November feeders closed $1.57 lower at $185.45. The market still sits in a fine position to rally, but after a strong push last week, the feeder cattle complex seemed to wave its white flag for the day and took the easy option in trading lower. If the cash cattle market can establish steady to higher trade later this week, then the gusto that the market possessed last week may come alive again. At Winter Livestock in Dodge City, Kansas, compared to last week, feeder steers weighing 600 to 1,000 pounds sold steady to $2.00 lower. Steer calves weighing 400 to 600 pounds traded $5.00 to $10.00 higher. Feeder heifers weighing 700 to 900 pounds sold steady to $2.00 higher. Heifer calves weighing 400 to 700 pounds sold $5.00 to $10.00 lower. Slaughter cows and culls sold steady to $2.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 39%. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for Sept. 6: down $0.44, $179.14.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog market trudged through Wednesday's trade with modestly higher tones as the futures complex closed higher, packers moved a considerable volume of product, and even though cash hog prices closed slightly lower, more than 10,000 head did trade. October lean hogs closed $0.02 lower at $91.07, December lean hogs closed $0.10 higher at $83.60 and February lean hogs closed $0.35 higher at $87.42. It makes perfect sense that after the long Labor Day weekend, packers are seeing orders pop up as retailers begin to restock their coolers. Seeing the movement of product is an especially important point for the hog sector as packers need somewhere to go with product given that export markets are limited. Pork cutouts total 352.46 loads with 318.83 loads of pork cuts and 33.63 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.18, $103.15. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 483,000 head, 8,000 head more than a week ago and 6,000 head more than a year ago. The CME Lean Hog Index for Sept. 5: down $1.48, $103.26.
THURSDAY'S CASH HOG CALL: Steady. Packers still have a long rope to walk even that their margins are so incredibly thin. It's likely that the market sees another sizeable movement of hogs trade but it's unlikely that prices strengthen much until packers have more margin to work with.
No comments:
Post a Comment