GENERAL COMMENTS:
It was a fruitful day for the cattle complex as fundamental support poured into the marketplace, but the lean hot complex, unfortunately, can't say the same. No cash cattle trade developed throughout the day. September corn is down 13 1/2 cents per bushel and August soybean meal is up $0.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 483.52 points and the NASDAQ is up 296.50 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex started the day on a positive note but was met with bullish surprises along the way, which only helped fuel the market's strength and ultimately pushed the live cattle contracts over $2.00 higher. October live cattle closed $2.92 higher at $229.02, December live cattle closed $2.42 higher at $230.90 and February live cattle closed $2.47 higher at $232.17. The first piece of the market's bullish surprise was the record-shattering corn crop reported in today's USDA crop production report, which showcased a 16.74-billion-bushel corn crop. And as DTN Grain Analysts noted, the previous record production was in the 2023-2024 crop at 15.34 billion bushels. This sent the cattle complex into a tizzy as cattle feeders believed that corn would be affordable this year, but with these numbers coming in, it's almost promised. Then, the next supportive note was the day's fiery midday boxed beef prices, where choice was up $8.50 and select was up $5.39. Just last Friday, everyone (from traders to cattlemen) went into the weekend wondering if the top was in for this bull run, but today's action proves that this horse isn't done running just yet. No developments have surfaced yet in this week's fed cash cattle market, but today's positive action could help prices trade steady if not a tick higher.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 114,000 head, 1,000 head less than a week ago and 9,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $9.06 ($390.58) and select up $6.03 ($365.64) with a movement of 105 loads (54.52 loads of choice, 22.01 loads of select, 17.52 loads of trim and 11.26 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. With today's wild fundamental developments, there's a strong chance that fed cash cattle prices will trade at least steady.
FEEDER CATTLE:
High feed prices haven't been an issue for cattle feeders this year, but whenever an input cost drops dramatically, feeders and traders alike are going to take note. Upon seeing the nearby corn contracts trading $0.10 to $0.13 lower, the feeder cattle complex leapt higher. August feeders closed $5.15 higher at $345.37, September feeders closed $5.65 higher at $346.25 and October feeders closed $5.47 higher at $345.15. At Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, compared to last week, feeder steers traded $8.00 to $12.00 higher, except those weighing over 800 pounds, which traded steady to $3.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold $3.00 to $8.00 higher. Steer calves sold steady to $4.00 higher. Heifer calves under 500 pounds sold steady to $4.00 lower; heifers over 500 pounds sold $5.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 66%. The CME feeder cattle index 8/11/2025: up $1.65, $342.69.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex remained stagnant throughout the day as the contracts didn't find enough fundamental support throughout the day to justify trading higher, which ultimately led to the day's mixed close. October lean hogs closed $0.17 lower at $91.60, December lean hogs closed $0.42 lower at $83.80 and February lean hogs closed $0.32 lower at $86.57. More than anything, it was disappointing to note the lower pork cutout value, which, unfortunately, was because of sharp price drops in the vast majority of the major cuts. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $4.16 with a weighted average price of $116.50 on 5,775 head. Pork cutouts totaled 411.39 loads with 339.36 loads of pork cuts and 72.03 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $4.39, $114.70. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 480,000 head, 2,000 head less than a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 8/8/2025: down $0.23, $110.02.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. The cash market saw better interest today, but with pork cutout values lower, prices could hold steady on Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment