GENERAL COMMENTS:
A few cattle have sold at $186 in the South which is $1.00 higher than last week's weighted average. Bids of $294 are again renewed in the North, but no dressed sales have been reported just yet. Heading into the afternoon, traders will continue to monitor the cash cattle market closely. December corn is down 4 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $2.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 132.61 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Even though the market's test of the cash cattle market has been limited at this point, traders are thrilled to see that Southern live cattle are being marked at $186 which is $1.00 higher than last week's weighted average. Also helping drive traders to again support the market is that midday boxed beef prices are up significantly, with midday choice cuts back above $300. It's unlikely that traders will punch enough into the market to drive the spot December contract to resistance levels but will likely instead mildly support the market thanks to stronger fundamentals and let next week's trade sort out whether or not the market's resistance should be challenged. October live cattle are up $0.40 at $186.40, December live cattle are up $0.07 at $186.47 and February live cattle are down $0.12 at $187.62. Aside from the handful of cattle that have traded in the South, the cash cattle market remains idle and quiet at this point but at any minute trade could start to trickle in. Asking prices left for cattle in the South remain firm at $187 and in the North at $300.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.56 ($302.36) and select up $3.85 ($287.14) with a movement of 74 loads (47.44 loads of choice, 10.51 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 15.62 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
With the corn complex trading lower and the live cattle/fed cash cattle market lending ample support -- it's been an easy decision for traders to again mildly support the feeder cattle contracts. October feeders are up $0.25 at $249.22, November feeders are up $0.35 at $248.47 and January feeders are up $0.75 at $243.30. It's not likely that traders will try to take on the nearby resistance at the market's 100-day moving average, but if support remains plentiful next week, that could be the target goal so long as traders continue to support the technical side of the market and buyer demand remains strong in the countryside.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is again trading lower as traders have shifted their attention to the cattle complex and aren't overly impressed with the hog sector as midday pork cutout values are lower and not enough cash hogs have traded to even be publicly reported. October lean hogs are down $0.17 at $84.00, December lean hogs are down $0.47 at $75.92 and February lean hogs are down $0.47 at $79.67. It's likely that the complex keeps with this lackluster tone through the day's end as not much newsworthy is likely to develop for the market.
The projected lean hog index for 10/3/2024 is down $0.07 at $84.83, and the actual index for 10/2/2024 is up $0.45 at $84.90. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report due to confidentiality. However, we can see that only 280 head have traded and that the five-day rolling average now sits at $77.21. Pork cutouts total 165.76 loads with 147.95 loads of pork cuts and 17.81 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.77, $94.03.
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