GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a dismal day for the livestock complex as traders didn't see the fundamental support they desired and consequently the markets closed mixed to somewhat lower. Still no sizeable trades have surfaced in the cash cattle market, but packer interest should improve on Thursday. December corn is up 3 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $8.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 38.04 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a lackluster day for the live cattle complex as little action developed in the marketplace throughout the day's trading hours. Traders patiently waited for the cash cattle market to trade, but no developments surfaced. Bids and asking prices are both still unestablished as packers and feedlot mangers have different desires for this week's cash trade. Feedlot mangers are hopeful that with packers running slightly faster chain speeds that they'll need to support the cash market more than what they have in recent weeks, but with packers having some supply built up around them, it's tough to predict who will win this week's cash cattle market battle. October live cattle closed $0.05 lower at $179.22, December live cattle closed $0.05 higher at $178.90 and February live cattle closed $0.07 lower at $179.50.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 125,000 head -- 5,000 head more than a week ago but 3,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice up $0.93 ($311.60) and select down $0.72 ($299.39) with a movement of 169 loads (98.64 loads of choice, 30.41 loads of select, 13.64 loads of trim and 25.86 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Given that packers are running slightly faster chain speeds and that feedlot mangers are growing tired of seeing the cash complex trade lower, prices could hold steady this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Without the green light 'go-ahead' signal from the live cattle complex, the feeder cattle market closed lower as there wasn't enough support in the marketplace for traders to safely advance the contracts. September feeders closed $1.75 lower at $239.62, October feeders closed $1.87 lower at $237.45 and November feeders closed $1.45 lower at $235.17. It's likely that the complex will continue to chop sideways throughout the week until more fundamental direction develops in the live cattle/fed cash cattle markets. At Bassett Livestock Auction in Bassett, Nebraska compared to two weeks ago steers weighing 900 to 1,000 pounds traded $2.00 to $9.00 higher but on the limited numbers of heifers sold, those weighing over 800 pounds were trading $9.00 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 95%. The CME feeder cattle index 9/3/2024: down $0.45, $239.53.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog market rounded out the day mixed as the nearby contracts didn't find enough support via cutout values to justify trading the nearby contracts higher. But even so, the deferred contracts maintained their upward trek through the day's end. October lean hogs closed $0.95 lower at $81.57, December lean hogs closed $1.10 lower at $72.70 and February lean hogs closed $0.55 lower at $75.77. The afternoon carcass price stood virtually no chance at closing higher as the only cut that sported a higher close for the day was the rib (up $0.25) but with the belly's $10.05 decline and the loin's $5.02 drop, the carcass price quickly sank lower. Pork cutout values may have dipped lower, but the cash hog market saw a notable volume traded as this afternoon's sales reached 15,462 head. It isn't outlandish to see packers buying that many hogs this week given that they hardly participated in last week's cash market. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.23 with a weighted average of $78.67 on 15,462 head. Pork cutouts totaled 345.48 loads with 304.90 loads of pork cuts and 40.58 loads of tri. Pork cutout values: down $3.53, $95.29. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 485,000 head -- 12,000 head more than a week ago and 6,000 head more than year ago. The CME lean hog index 8/30/2024: down $0.32, $86.15.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. It's likely that packers will still need some hogs, but Thursday's movement won't likely be as vast, and prices could trend steady to somewhat lower.
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