GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a grandiose day for the livestock complex as all three of the markets closed higher. Although the fed cash cattle market waited to trade until the week's bitter end, feedlot managers accomplished another successful trade as prices were higher. May corn is up 1 1/2 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $1.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 20.10 points and NASDAQ is up 216.90 points.
From last Thursday to this Friday, the livestock contracts scored the following changes: April live cattle up $4.43, June live cattle up $4.18; May feeder cattle up $3.68, August feeder cattle up $3.43; June lean hogs up $3.13, July lean hogs up $3.08; May corn down $0.03, July corn down $0.05.
LIVE CATTLE:
The cash cattle market waited to trade until the week's bitter end, but it was worth it. Feedlot managers deserve a round of applause for accomplishing yet another week of stronger trade even though prices were already substantially higher just last week. Even so, the fed cash cattle market had ample support this past week as traders full-heartedly believed in the market's bullish sediment and thankfully drove the contracts to new highs even though no cash cattle trade developed throughout the week's trading hours but was instead delayed until after closing time on Friday afternoon. June live cattle closed $0.25 higher at $20825, August live cattle closed steady at 204.10 and October live cattle closed $0.10 lower at $201.97. It would be remiss of me to neglect to mention that the spot June contract also reached new contract highs and successfully took out the previous high at $204. The week's trade is still relatively thin but at least there have been large enough samples in each region to confidently report some trends. Kansas live cattle have sold at mostly $213, which is $3.00 higher than last week's weighted average. Texas cattle are being traded at $212 which is $2.0 0higher than last week's weighted average. And Nebraska live cattle are selling at $217 which is $4.00 higher than last week's weighted average. There's yet to be any dressed trade reported.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 82,000 head -- 7,000 head less than a week ago and 29,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 7,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 555,000 head -- 21,000 head less than a week ago and 58,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $2.78 ($336.48) and select up $3.76 ($320.11) with a movement of 96 loads (67.59 loads of choice, 10.65 loads of select, 9.46 loads of trim and 8.48 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Before we can call what next week's trend could potentially be, we need to see where this week's weighted average lands and how many cattle sell.
FEEDER CATTLE:
It was a riveting day for the feeder cattle complex as the spot August contract reached new contract highs and was thoroughly supported. Between total buy-in from traders to the unwavering support of feeder cattle demand in the countryside -- what more could the market really want? May feeders closed $1.45 higher at $290.52, August feeders closed $1.60 higher at $294.30 and September feeders closed $1.77 higher at $293.55. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that compared to last week feeder steers and heifers traded $6.00 to $12.00 higher, steer calves sold $4.00 to $7.00 higher and heifer calves traded $6.00 to $11.00 stronger. Slaughter cows sold steady to $3.00 higher and slaughter bulls sold steady. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 65%. The CME feeder cattle index 4/24/2025: up $2.64, $289.88.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex wasn't left out of the fun as its market also saw tremendous support through Friday's close. It was potentially most exciting, however, to see the spot Jun contract close $1.22 higher – which pushed the contract to its highest price point since late February. Couple that positive technical surge with the fact that pork cutout values and cash prices closed higher, and I think it's safe to say the day's performance was an incredible accomplishment. The afternoon carcass price was mostly supported however by the belly's $9.75 gain, but the loin also closed $2.93 higher. June lean hogs closed $1.22 higher at $101.15, July lean hogs closed $1.12 higher at $101.17 and August lean hogs closed $0.77 higher at $99.07. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.08 with a weighted average price of $91.39 on 3,314 head. Pork cutouts totaled 357.03 loads with 328.97 loads of pork cuts and 28.06 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.18, $98.04. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 485,000 head -- 87,000 head more than a week ago and 47,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 4/23/2025: up $0.52, $87.27.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Given that packers were aggressive in this week's cash hog market, it's likely that they won't have to be aggressive on Monday when the market opens.
No comments:
Post a Comment