GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is back to trading mixed, with the cattle contracts trading slightly lower as traders wait to see what develops in this week's fed cash cattle market, and the lean hog complex is now trading higher. No cash cattle have traded at this point, but bids are on the table in both regions. September corn is up 1 1/4 cents per bushel and August soybean meal is down $2.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 247.79 points and the NASDAQ is up 29.60 points.
Thursday's export report shared that Beef net sales of 16,700 mt for 2025 were up 90% from the previous week and 46% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were South Korea (9,000 mt), Japan (2,400 mt) and Taiwan (1,500 mt). Pork net sales of 17,000 mt for 2025 were down 1% from the previous week and 43% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (7,200 mt), Colombia (3,100 mt) and Japan (2,200 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
Following the major advancement in which the market has pushed earlier this week, traders are now (once again) seeming to sit on their hands waiting for developments to surface in the fed cash cattle market. More than anything, traders are hopeful that the market will indeed trade higher to justify their technical advancement, but the cash market has yet to trade any cattle. Bids of $230 live are currently being offered in Kansas, and bids of $235 live and $376 dressed are currently being offered in Nebraska, but feedlot managers aren't jumping at those offers. Asking prices are firm in the South at $232, so packers are going to need to improve their bids. It is interesting to note that midday boxed beef prices are higher again, which continues to show the strength of consumer demand and how really that's been one of the market's strongest pillars to lean on during this cycle. August live cattle are down $1.00 at $226.02, October live cattle are down $0.95 at $222.57 and December live cattle are down $0.90 at $223.00.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.57 ($369.09) and select up $4.23 ($349.62) with a movement of 73 loads (46.63 loads of choice, 13.79 loads of select, 8.24 loads of trim and 4.74 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
After Wednesday's monstrous gain, even the feeder cattle complex is trading lower as traders seem to be waving their white flag, saying, "That's enough for now, ladies and gentlemen." August feeders are down $2.27 at $329.25, September feeders are down $1.72 at $330.17 and October feeders are down $1.65 at $329.00. Demand continues to be red-hot, like never before in the countryside, so today's weaker note throughout the futures complex is solely a technical decision, and not one that reflects the morale throughout the countryside.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is trading higher as traders have seemed to catch another wind and are pleased to see pork cutout values higher at today's midday report. I think it's worth noting that of the major cuts, not one of them is trading lower, which shows strong overall demand. August lean hogs are up $0.15 at $108.62, October lean hogs are up $0.87 at $91.77 and December lean hogs are up $0.77 at $83.35.
The projected lean hog index for 7/23/2025 is up $0.72 at $109.95, and the actual index 7/22/2025 is up $0.64 at $109.23. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.96 with a weighted average price of $113.81, ranging from $103.00 to $115.00 on 3,912 head and a five-day rolling average of $113.33. Pork cutouts total 151.56 loads with 130.77 loads of pork cuts and 20.79 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.47, $117.71.
No comments:
Post a Comment