GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a grim day for the livestock complex as all three of the markets ended up closing lower as trader support fizzled out. March corn is up 2 3/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $3.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 165.35 points
From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: February live cattle down $3.03, April live cattle down $2.53; March feeder cattle up $1.45, April feeder cattle up $1.60; February lean hogs up $2.23, April lean hogs up $0.45; March corn up $0.09, May corn up $0.08.
**Please note the markets will be closed on Monday, Feb. 17 and regular DTN commentary will resume on Tuesday, Feb. 18.**
LIVE CATTLE:
It was another painstaking day for the live cattle complex as the contracts again slid lower and ended up closing below the market's 40-day moving average in the spot April contract. This will likely mean that next week's market could again see some technical hesitancy when coming up against that threshold, as traders will be cautious about overly supporting the market. February live cattle closed $1.80 lower at $197.75, April live cattle closed $2.27 lower at $194.25 and June live cattle closed $1.97 lower at $190.45. Throughout the week, Southern live cattle traded for mostly $202 to $203, which is $3.00 to $4.00 lower than last week's weighted average, and Northern dressed cattle traded for mostly $320 to $322, which is $5.00 to $7.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 103,000 head -- 3,000 head more than a week ago and 17,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 4,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated to be around 561,000 head -- 23,000 head less than a week ago and 47,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $2.70 ($314.70) and select down $2.70 ($307.14) with a movement of 87 loads (55.38 loads of choice, 14.02 loads of select, 2.90 loads of trim and 14.57 loads of ground beef).
TUESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady/somewhat lower. This past week's movement was thin, so while it's known that packers are attempting to back up supplies by cutting throughput and strategically buying up supply to lessen their need of the cash market, they'll still likely need to participate next week because they didn't secure much inventory this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Unfortunately, traders' support of the feeder cattle complex only grew softer as the day traded on, which led the spot March feeder cattle contract to close again below its 40-day moving average. Unfortunately, this will likely signal more technical down pressure next week as the 40-day moving average was an important threshold. March feeders closed $1.62 lower at $266.35, April feeders closed $1.55 lower at $266.42 and May feeders closed $1.30 lower at $265.00. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that compared to last week, feeder steers over 850 pounds sold $2.00 higher, but steers weighing less than 850 pounds sold $2.00 to $6.00 lower, and all feeder heifers traded $1.00 to $4.00 lower. Steer and heifer calves over 450 pounds sold $2.00 to $6.00 lower, but calves under 450 pounds traded up to $15.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold $1.00 to $6.00 higher, and slaughter bulls traded $2.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 64%. The CME feeder cattle index 2/13/2025: up $1.81, $276.23.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex also closed lower as traders' interest simply didn't remain as the afternoon traded through closing. But today's lower descent wasn't because of a lack of fundamental demand as once again this afternoon pork cutout values closed higher. The carcass price was mainly influenced by the belly's $7.05 jump, but hey, a higher close is a higher close. April lean hogs closed $0.50 lower at $92.60, June lean hogs closed $0.60 lower at $104.67 and July lean hogs closed $0.50 lower at $105.35. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $2.52 with a weighted average price of $88.23 on 2,885 head. Pork cutouts totaled 268.21 loads with 244.61 loads of pork cuts and 23.60 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.12, $101.99. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 484,000 head -- steady with last week but 5,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 97,000 head. The CME lean hog index 2/12/2025: up $0.98, $88.06.
TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Packers will likely show mixed interest in the cash market on Tuesday as they'll need to secure some inventory.
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