Thursday, June 8, 2023

Thursday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Southern Feedlots Hold Out for More Money

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The cash cattle market continues to be where the cattle market's focus remains as Southern feedlots have yet to really let cattle trade. Trade could break loose later Thursday afternoon or it could just as easily be delayed until Friday. July corn is up 6 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $0.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 155.42 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

The live cattle complex is trading mixed with some of the nearby contracts trying to trade higher while most of the deferred contracts continue to trade lower. June live cattle are up $0.72 at $179.72, August live cattle are up $0.05 at $173.22 and October live cattle are up $0.02 at $175.65. The cash cattle market continues to be a nail-biting marketplace as Southern feedlots are committed to getting substantially higher prices this week for their cattle and continue to refuse to sell them at what packers are currently offering. Thursday morning bids of $183 to $184 have been offered, but Southern feedlots are asking $186 to $190. Trade could break loose Thursday afternoon in the South, or it could just as easily be delayed until Friday.

A light to moderate trade was reported in Nebraska and Iowa Wednesday with dressed deals marked at mostly $300, $10 higher than last week's weighted averages, there were even a few head that sold as high as $304. Live sales in that area had a range of $189 to $191, $3 to $5 higher than last week's weighted averages. Just a handful of business has been reported in the South this week with a range of $180 to $184, $3 to $7 higher than last week's weighted averages.

Beef net sales of 12,800 mt for 2023 were down 29% from the previous week and 27% from the prior four-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (3,900 mt), South Korea (3,900 mt) and Mexico (1,900 mt).

Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.55 ($327.74) and select up $2.15 ($303.71) with a movement of 63 loads (22.43 loads of choice, 17.82 loads of select, 3.90 loads of trim and 18.99 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex is back to trading higher as the market notes the mostly lower trend in corn prices and loves the continued momentum in both the cash cattle and feeder cattle markets in the country. It doesn't matter if you spent your time tracking Superior's Corn Belt Classic sale or if you watched various sales throughout the country, feeder cattle prices continue to trek higher as buyers are worried about finding enough replacements to restock their empty pens later this year. August feeders are up $1.37 at $240.47, September feeders are up $0.92 at $243.20 and October feeders are up $0.62 at $245.17.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex is again trading lower as traders remain cautious market participants even though the market's fundamentals are still rather supportive. July lean hogs are up $0.02 at $86.95, August lean hogs are down $1.02 at $82.05 and October lean hogs are down $1.12 at $74.62. Today's export report had little effect on the market as traders were happy to see China listed as one of the largest buyers, but unfortunately the report didn't help propel prices higher. With both cash prices and pork cutout values higher, one would think that traders would be willing to supportive the market, but outside pressures remain traders' biggest concern for the time being.

Pork net sales of 25,500 mt for 2023 were up 13% from the previous week, but down 11% from the prior four-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (9,100 mt), China (8,100 mt) and Japan (3,200 mt).

The projected lean hog index for July 7 is up $0.76 at $83.80, and the actual index for July 6 is up $1.18 at $83.04. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $1.63 with a weighted average price of $94.07, ranging from $84.50 to $96.00 on 8,778 head and a five-day rolling average of $89.76. Pork cutouts total 175.33 loads with 163.05 loads of pork cuts and 12.28 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.32, $87.47.



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