GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a sluggish day for the livestock complex as traders elected to take a cautious approach when trading the contracts. No cash cattle trade developed throughout the day and it's likely that trade will be delayed until the second half of the week. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.89 with a weighted average price of $60.87 on 1,518 head. March corn is steady and March soybean meal is steady. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 274.30 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a quiet day for the live cattle complex as traders didn't see the support they yearned for. February live cattle closed $0.82 lower at $179.72, April live cattle closed $1.40 lower at $182.35 and June live cattle closed $1.30 lower at $180.47. Traders will be cautious to not over-support the live cattle complex following last week's aggressive push. Traders will continue to closely monitor cash prices, slaughter speeds and boxed beef prices as factors that could influence the market to trade in either direction. No cash cattle trade developed throughout the day. Trade will likely be delayed until the second half of the week. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 125,000 head -- steady with a week ago and 7,000 head more than a year ago. New showlists appear to be higher in all main feeding areas.
Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 69,008 head. Of that, 90% (62,183 head) were committed to nearby delivery and the remaining 10% (6,825 head) were committed to deferred delivery.
Last week, northern cattle sold for $280, $3 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Trade in Texas was mostly marked at $178, which is $3 higher and Kansas cattle sold for $178 to $179, $4 to $5 higher than the previous week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $0.40 ($293.48) and select up $0.30 ($283.77) with a movement of 85 loads (51.63 loads of choice, 13.33 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 19.72 loads of ground beef).
Tuesday's CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat higher. After the big jump in prices last week, feedlots are going to be hard-pressed to get packers to pay more money for cattle again this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex closed lower as the market wasn't able to gain much support as trade in the countryside was mixed throughout the day and as the live cattle contracts closed lower. March feeders closed $2.05 lower at $242.75, April feeders closed $1.95 lower at $248.25 and May feeders closed $1.95 lower at $253.32. After the large gains in the complex saw last week, traders will likely be cautious about overly supporting the contracts this week in fear of overdoing the move. At Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri at their midsession point and when compared to last week, feeder steers were selling steady to $4.00 lower, and feeder heifers were trading steady to $5.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 58%. The CME feeder cattle index 2/2/2024: up $0.31, $239.48.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex closed with the same doggish tone that pushed the cattle complex lower. As expected, the cash hog market didn't see much interest and with pork cutout values closing lower too -- support was hard to come by in Monday's market. February lean hogs closed $1.05 lower at $74.40, April lean hogs closed $1.62 lower at $82.20 and June lean hogs closed $1.45 lower at $96.05. Pork cutouts totaled 240.82 loads with 189.55 loads of pork cuts and 51.27 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.80, $87.60. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 492,000 head -- 2,000 head more than a week ago and 14,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 2/1/2024: up $0.41, $73.12.
TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given that pork cutout values closed lower, it's likely that packers pay little interest to Tuesday's cash market and if they do decide to buy, prices will likely be steady to somewhat lower.
No comments:
Post a Comment