GENERAL COMMENTS:
Friday's market wasn't overly eventful as trades were somewhat checked out early for the week and mostly let the contracts either chop sideways or drift lower ahead of Friday's close. It was encouraging; however, to see that Northern cattle traded at mostly $288 which is fully steady with last week's weighted average. December corn is up 7 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $0.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 310.99 points.
From Friday-to-Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: October live cattle up $2.47, December live cattle up $3.80; September feeder cattle up $7.60, October feeder cattle up $8.18; October lean hogs down $1.05, December lean hogs up $0.08; December corn up $0.07, March corn up $0.07.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was rather impressive to see the live cattle complex round out the week mixed as although some of the nearby contracts closed slightly lower, the market's deferred contracts were able to still round out the day higher. It may have taken Northern feedlots some time to market their showlists this week, but the wait was worth it as prices were marked this morning at $288 dressed which is fully steady with last week's weighted average. And earlier in the week Southern live cattle traded for mostly $181 which is also mostly steady with the previous week's weighted average. October live cattle closed $0.37 lower at $177.65, December live cattle closed $0.10 lower at $178.50 and February live cattle close steady at $179.60.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 118,000 head -- 5,000 head less than a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 17,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 620,000 head -- incomparable to last week, but 11,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $2.27 ($304.91) and select down $1.47 ($294.17) with a movement of 158 loads (99.65 loads of choice, 13.84 loads of select, 6.39 loads of trim and 38.02 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Depending how aggressively packers run their kill schedule next week, prices may be able to trade steady again this upcoming week – which would be a win for feedlots.
FEEDER CATTLE:
After rallying to its nearby resistance Thursday afternoon, the feeder cattle complex traded mostly steady to somewhat lower throughout Friday's trade as traders weren't confident about take on that resistance ahead of the weekend. September feeders closed $0.15 lower at $241.90, October feeders closed $0.62 lower at $239.12 and November feeders closed $0.27 lower at $235.20. This past week the market has seen larger runs of calves coming to town, which indicates that the fall run is beginning to get underway. With temperature swings being noticed throughout the vast majority of the country, sickness could be a concern for buyers as freshly weaned calves are highly susceptible to sickness through the weaning process. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that compared to last week and throughout the entire state, feeder steers traded $1.00 to $3.00 lower and feeder heifers traded $2.00 to $7.00 lower. Steer and heifer calves sold $10.00 to $15.00 lower. The sale report did note that the vast majority of their sales this week were on unweaned calves and that with temperature swings, that buyers were worried about health conditions. The CME feeder cattle index 9/13/2024: up $1.42, $243.32.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex closed lower as the market as the market seemed to have run out of momentum ahead of the week's close. Between pork cutout values being slightly lower and cash sales seeing less interest late in the week, the lean hog complex was lacking support and traders ultimately decided to let the market drift lower through Friday's end. October lean hogs closed $0.45 lower at $78.45, December lean hogs closed $0.25 lower at $71.30 and February lean hogs closed $0.22 lower at $74.97. The carcass price's pressure came from the $1.77 drop in the belly, the $1.28 drop in the loin and the $1.10 decline in the butt. Hog prices averaged $76.00 on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, on a total of 1,450 head. Pork cutouts totaled 321.59 loads with 281.09 loads of pork cuts and 40.50 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.28, $93.90. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 480,000 head -- 2,000 head less than a week ago and 4,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 155,000 head. The CME lean hog index 9/12/2024: down $0.11, $85.35.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. It's likely that packers will look to see how demand fairs early next week before they jump too aggressively in the cash market.
No comments:
Post a Comment