GENERAL COMMENTS:
The day's trade has been mostly uneventful, but traders are helping to continue to drive the livestock contracts higher. Still no trade has developed in the cash cattle market. March corn is down 2 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is down $1.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 66.21 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is trading mixed as the nearby contracts are continuing to grind higher as traders believe that the market's fundamentals will prevail again later this week, but the deferred contracts are trading mildly lower. February live cattle are up $0.77 at $198.17, April live cattle are up $0.90 at $199.10 and June live cattle are up $0.65 at $193.17. It is worth noting that the choice cut is showing a little weakness this morning as choice cuts are down $0.70, but the select cut is still rallying as it's up $1.27. If this trend continues in the days ahead, it could be troubling for the market's aspirations to continue to rally as demand has been the backbone of the cattle market's rally through this cycle. It's too early to know if this is the case or not, but we need to continue to monitor boxed beef prices closely. Still no trade has developed yet in the countryside, and bids and asking prices are still not known.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.70 ($332.65) and select up $1.27 ($318.84) with a movement of 96 loads (58.83 loads of choice, 18.65 loads of select, 2.65 loads of trim and 15.43 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
With the added market support of seeing the live cattle contracts trading higher amid a weaker tone in the corn complex – it's been an easy decision for traders to lead the feeder cattle contracts higher this morning. January feeders are up $2.75 at $274.75, March feeders are up $1.17 at $269.07 and April feeders are up $1.12 at $269.45. Thankfully demand continues to shine through as sales in the countryside remain utterly incredible, and with the board's rally again today, eagerness and momentum from the contracts could help bolster stronger trade throughout the week.
LEAN HOGS:
Continuing to rally thanks to the support of stronger pork cutout values, the lean hog contracts are still higher today. February lean hogs are up $0.27 at $83.45, April lean hogs are up $1.22 at $90.52 and Juen elan hogs are up $1.20 at $103.67. The biggest gains being seen this morning in terms of pork cutout values are the butt's $3.76 jump, and the belly's $3.27 increase -- but I think it's even more worthwhile to note that this morning, none of the cuts are showing a decline which illuminates the point that demand is strong.
The projected lean hog index for 1/13/2025 is up $0.23 at $80.99, and the actual index for 1/10/2025 is up $0.33 at $80.76. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $1.88 with a weighted average price of $79.50, ranging from $74.00 to $80.50, on 605 head and a five-day rolling average of $78.84. Pork cutouts total 168.53 loads with 149.40 loads of pork cuts and 19.13 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.03, $92.23.
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