GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex had a fruitful day as all three of the markets closed higher. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas and Kansas, but lower in Nebraska/Colorado. March corn is up 3 1/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $0.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 227.79 points and the NASDAQ is up 121.21 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a successful day for the live cattle complex as the market not only closed higher thanks to the added support of last Friday's bullish Cattle on Feed report, but the market also saw the positive uptick in boxed beef prices, which lent that much more support to the market as well. December live cattle closed $0.32 higher at $230.72, February live cattle closed $0.62 higher at $231.42 and April live cattle closed $1.07 higher at $231.07. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas and Kansas, but lower in Nebraska/Colorado. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 121,000 head, 11,000 head more than a week ago and 2,000 head more than a year ago.
Last week Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $355 to $358, which is $2.00 to $4.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average, but Southern live cattle traded at mostly $228, which is $2.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade only totaled 34,798 head. Of that 64% (22,421 head) were committed to the market's nearby delivery option, while the remaining 36% (12,377 head) were committed to the market's deferred delivery option.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $1.24 ($362.87) and select up $4.67 ($350.69) with a movement of 68 loads (38.76 loads of choice, 11.70 loads of select, 5.40 loads of trim and 11.89 loads of ground beef).
TUESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady/somewhat lower. Given that this week will be a holiday-shortened week for Christmas, it's likely that cash prices will trade steady at best.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex maintained its rallying trend through Monday's close, thankful for last week's bullish Cattle on Feed report that showed placements down 11% compared to a year ago, and optimistic about beef demand and the likelihood of a strong first quarter of 2026. January feeders closed $0.90 higher at $346.50, March feeders closed $1.10 higher at $340.50 and April feeders closed $1.40 higher at $339.00. Mostly sale barns are shut down until after the New Year holiday, when their regular sale schedules will resume. The CME feeder cattle index 12/19/2025: not available at this time.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex rounded out the day higher as traders are eager to see what Tuesday's Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report holds. Today's fundamentals weren't overly helpful, but given that it's the week of Christmas, that's to be expected. February lean hogs closed $0.85 higher at $85.35, April lean hogs closed $0.75 higher at $89.87 and June lean hogs closed $0.65 higher at $102.35. More than anything, the market didn't yield enough support fundamentally for traders to break above the resistance at $90.00. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.29 with a weighted average price of $67.16 on 941 head. Pork cutouts totaled 250.38 loads with 213.25 loads of pork cuts and 37.13 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.35, $98.41. Monday's slaughter is estimated at 496,000 head, 17,000 head more than a week ago and 7,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 12/18/2025: down $0.15, $83.73.
TUESDAY'S HOG CALL: Higher. Packers weren't very aggressive in today's cash market, which likely means that they'll show more interest in the market on Tuesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment