GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mostly higher with both the lean hog and feeder cattle contracts trading fully higher, while the live cattle market remains more cautious. The market will likely see little interest Monday afternoon as substantial trader interest won't likely rush throughout the marketplace until after Tuesday's Fourth of July holiday. December corn is up 3 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $2.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 41.21 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It's not surprising to see the live cattle complex trading mixed after running to a new contract high last Friday ahead of closing in the spot August contract. It's not that traders are questioning their late week decision, but rather that they want to let the Fourth of July holiday pass before they do too much in the complex again. There's a good chance that the cash cattle market sees strong interest from packers late this week as they weren't overly aggressive last week in the marketplace knowing that they had multiple reduced kill-schedule days ahead of them. August live cattle are down $0.82 at $176.35, October live cattle are down $0.40 at $179.15 and December live cattle are down $0.20 at $183.32.
Last week's cash cattle trade was spotty and developed periodically throughout the week. Southern live cattle traded for $178 to $184, but mostly at $178 to $179, which is $1.00 to $2.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle traded for $280 to $290 but mostly for $288 to $290, which is steady to $2.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Live sales in the North were marked at $182 to $184 which is $1.00 lower to $1.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.01 ($328.73) and select up $0.01 ($293.64) with a movement of 28 loads (15.06 loads of choice, 6.57 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 6.29 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex is trading higher even though the nearby corn contracts are also trading mildly higher. Earlier Monday morning, feeders seemed hesitant of trading higher as the corn contracts were pushing a $0.06 to $0.08 rally, but now that the corn contracts are only rallying a mere $0.01 to $0.04 higher, feeders seem more comfortable. Not to mention, despite the fact feeder cattle prices are extremely high, demand hasn't waived whatsoever which continues to fuel the feeder cattle market and is evident by the fact that Friday's CME Feeder Cattle Index closed at a whopping $232.75. August feeders are up $0.10 at $247.67, September feeders are up $0.47 at $251.30 and October feeders are up $).75 at $253.27.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is being the boldest livestock market of the day as the contracts are taking out resistance planes and running higher even though the market will be closed Tuesday for the Fourth of July holiday. July lean hogs are up $1.57 at $97.22, August lean hogs are up $1.97 at $94.57 and October lean hogs are up $1.35 at $79.72. So long as traders see modest/somewhat supportive interest in pork sales later this week, the market may be able to sustain these levels which haven't been traded at since early May.
The projected lean hog index for June 30 is up $0.39 at $94.31, and the actual index for June 29 is up $0.50 at $93.92. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $2.91 with a weighted average price of $94.20, ranging from $85.00 to $97.00 on 910 head and a five-day rolling average of $92.15. Pork cutouts are unavailable due to technical reasons at the USDA.
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