GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trending mostly higher into Tuesday's noon hour as traders are anxious to get back to work after the long weekend. No cash cattle trade has developed yet and it's likely that trade is delayed until Wednesday or later. December corn is up 2 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $2.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 57.30 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
With boxed beef prices considerably higher at Tuesday's noon hour, the live cattle contracts have unanimously agreed that the market's direction should be higher early this week. October live cattle are up $0.52 at $180.65, December live cattle are up $0.67 at $184.85 and February live cattle are up $0.70 at $189.02. The market settled into a mostly sideways trading range last week as cash cattle prices traded steady to $3.00 lower across both regions. Traders are seeing Tuesday's stronger beef prices as an excellent support signal but will again look to the market's cash cattle trade for direction later this week. No bids or asking prices are available at this point, and trade isn't expected to develop until Wednesday or later. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas, somewhat lower in Nebraska/Colorado and lower in Kansas.
Last week, Northern dressed cattle traded from $288 to $295, but mostly at $290, which is $3.00 lower than the previous week. Southern live cattle traded at mostly $178 to $179, which is mostly steady to $1.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $3.42 ($317.91) and select up $1.92 ($292.21) with a movement of 45 loads (24.67 loads of choice, 10.73 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 9.11 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Even though the nearby corn contracts are trending $0.03 to $0.04 higher into Tuesday's noon hour, the feeder cattle contracts are seeing the support in the live cattle market as enough positivity in the complex to safely trade the contracts higher. September feeders are down $0.45 at $251.40, October feeders are up $0.12 at $254.77 and November feeders are up $0.27 at $256.65. Over the next couple of weeks, sale barn receipts will likely be thin, but toward the later part of September, the fall run may gain momenum and we see more active trading. It will be especially interesting this week to see what the fall run amounts to given that feeders and calves have been marketed earlier this year than compared to historical trends.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is again rallying as traders note the continued support of consumers in pork cutout values. The cash market is still only being vaguely participated in, but maybe later this week the market will see a little more support. October lean hogs are up $0.40 at $83.45, December lean hogs are up $0.82 at $75.42 and February lean hogs are up $0.32 at $79.35. The carcass price was heavily influenced this morning by a $17.83 jump in the belly, but the rib was also up $5.10 and the ham up $3.59.
The projected lean hog index for Sept. 1 is down $1.21 at $86.56, and the actual index for Aug. 31 is down $1.49 at $87.77. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $79.39, ranging from $72.00 to $80.00 on 478 head and a five-day rolling average of $80.30. Pork cutouts total 127.69 loads with 112.61 loads of pork cuts and 15.09 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $4.59, $98.29.
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