GENERAL COMMENTS:
Seeing the cash cattle market jump $4.00 to $6.00 higher ahead of Friday's close is music to any cattleman's ears! Feedlot managers deserve a pat on the back for this week's trade as advancing the cash market -- $4.00 to $6.00 higher is no easy feat. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report due to packer submission issues. March corn is down 4 1/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is down $0.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 54.64 points.
From Friday to Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: February live cattle up $4.07, April live cattle up $2.97; March feeder cattle up $2.35, April feeder cattle up $1.58; February lean hogs down $1.78, April lean hogs down $2.68; March corn down $0.14, May corn down $0.12.
LIVE CATTLE:
Talk about waiting until the week's bitter end to see cattle trade! At this point, there's been a thin movement of cattle traded in the South where prices are being marked at $182 which is $4.00 higher than last week's weighted average. And for as long as I've been tracking the markets, I don't know that I've ever reported that prices have jumped $6.00 higher. Yup, you read that correctly, prices are currently being reported in the North at mostly $285 which is $6.00 higher than last week's weighted average. There have been plenty of weeks where I've seen the market fall $5.00 to $6.00 lower but accomplishing a $6.00 jump takes serious determination. Hats off to you cattlemen -- I'd call that true price discovery!
February live cattle closed $0.85 higher at $184.62, April live cattle closed $0.15 higher at $186.72 and June live cattle closed $0.25 higher at $183.97.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 117,000 head -- 4,000 head less than a week ago and 5,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 4,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 622,000 head -- 15,000 head less than a week ago and 5,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $0.97 ($294.04) and select up $0.96 ($285.08) with a movement of 105 loads (54.76 loads of choice, 15.50 loads of select, 23.69 loads of trim and 11.30 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Packers are going to be bitter about having to pay $4.00 to $6.00 more for cattle in this week's trade.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle market closed lower Friday afternoon, but all in all the market endured another stellar week. It was amazing to watch what prices did at sale barns this past week as buyers continue to buy aggressively as they know that sooner rather than later feeder cattle supplies are going to run short. March feeders closed $0.30 higher at $247.15, April feeders closed $0.15 lower at $251.77 and May feeders closed $0.62 lower at $255.67. The market's turn to lower prices ahead of the day's close likely stems from the fact that traders were leery of over-supporting the market ahead of the weekend -- not because they believe the run has been overdone.
The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that compared to last week feeder steers and steer calves traded $1.00 to $4.00 higher. Feeder heifers traded $2.00 to $5.00 higher, but heifer calves sold $4.00 to $8.00 higher. It was noted in multiple auction reports that some cattle are beginning to be bought already for grass calves. The CME feeder cattle index 2/8/2024: up $0.84, $242.95.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex was able to finally secure a win ahead of the week's close. After trading lower throughout the earlier part of the week, the lean hog market finally found support ahead of Friday's close. February lean hogs closed $0.37 higher at $73.67, April lean hogs closed $0.80 higher at $81.15 and June lean hogs closed $0.12 higher at $95.00. Pork cutout values were mostly dominated by weaker prices -- as the only two cuts that were able to see higher day-over-day prices were the butt and the rib. Pork cutouts totaled 303.66 loads with 273.62 loads of pork cuts and 30.03 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.39, $85.97. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 484,000 head -- 3,000 head less than a week ago and 12,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 181,000 head. The CME lean hog index 2/7/2024: down $0.02, $74.00.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given how thinly traded the cash hog market is, it's unlikely that traders show it much interest on Monday.
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