GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex rallied through Wednesday's close as traders opted to refocus their attention on the market's fundamentals, rather than worrying about the lingering pressures. Bids were offered throughout the day in the North, but no cattle traded. May corn is down 2 3/4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $4.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 238.14 points and the NASDAQ is up 290.79 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
It was a splendid day for the live cattle complex as the market saw its contracts rally anywhere from $3.00 to $4.00 higher through Wednesday's end. And if today's higher close seems like somewhat of a whirlwind, you're not alone in feeling whiplashed, as the market's behavior over the last five trading days has been extreme. But in a world in which volatility rules over everything, and everyone opts to react now and think and process later, it shouldn't surprise us that the markets react in the same manner amid global turmoil, wide daily trading limits and algorithmic trading. April live cattle closed $4.22 higher at $238.35, June live cattle closed $4.50 higher at $234.17 and August live cattle closed $4.32 higher at $233.22. A single bid of $375 was offered throughout the day in Nebraska, but still no cattle have traded yet, and at this point, asking prices remain elusive.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 111,000 head, 4,000 head more than a week ago and 7,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $0.52 ($388.57) and select up $1.77 ($380.35) with a movement of 92 loads (64.25 loads of choice, 8.58 loads of select, 13.48 loads of trim and 6.13 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat higher. With the board trading higher, the cash market may be able to trade steady, if not a tick higher as well.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex also enjoyed a rallying type of day as the market saw its contracts rally mostly beyond $7.00 higher through Wednesday's close. March feeders closed $6.72 higher at $363.92, April feeders closed $7.45 higher at $360.75 and May feeders closed $7.65 higher at $357.00. And once again, today's higher end largely stems from the fact that traders elected to look past some of the external pressures weighing against the marketplace, and again focus their attention on the long-term, bullish outlook. At the Winter Livestock Auction in La Junta, Colorado, compared to last week, feeder steers under 700 pounds sold unevenly steady, and feeder heifers across all weight groups sold sharply lower. Steers over 700 pounds traded $10.00 to $11.00 lower. Replacement heifers traded higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 66%. The CME feeder cattle index 3/3/2026: down $0.66, $368.93.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex was also able to enjoy a bit of a rally through Wednesday's end as traders were pleased to see a slight uptick in pork demand. April lean hogs closed $1.32 higher at $97.07, June lean hogs closed $1.72 higher at $111.20 and July lean hogs closed $1.55 higher at $112.95. In order for traders to keep with the upward momentum on Thursday, fundamental support will be essential. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that 5,345 head traded and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $91.24. Pork cutouts totaled 259.55 loads with 219.74 loads of pork cuts and 39.81 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.12, $98.62. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 494,000 head, 2,000 head more than a week ago and 128,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 3/2/2026: up $0.15, $89.84.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. At this point, packers have likely fulfilled the vast majority of their needs for the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment