DTN Midday Livestock Comments          10/29 11:33

   Lackadaisical Tones Send Cattle Lower, But Hogs Continue to Trade Higher

   With boxed beef prices lower and no cash cattle trade having developed yet, 
both the live cattle and feeder cattle markets are trading lower.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading mixed into Tuesday's noon hour as cattle 
trade is drifting lower seeming to wait to see what develops fundamentally this 
week, but the lean hog complex is continuing to charge higher. It's not likely 
that any developments will surface in the cash cattle market until Thursday or 
later and at this point no asking prices or bids have been posted. December 
corn is up 3 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $3.10. The Dow 
Jones Industrial Average is down 53.80 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   Without any trade having developed yet in the cash market, and with boxed 
beef prices lower in the morning report, traders are opting to trade cautiously 
which has consequently sent the live cattle contracts back to trading slightly 
lower. December live cattle are down $0.20 at $189.07, February live cattle are 
down $0.32 at $189.77 and April live cattle are down $0.60 at $190.10. It's not 
likely that any cash cattle trade will develop ahead of Thursday, so today's 
weaker tone will likely stick with the market through today's close.

   Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.35 ($323.15) and select down 
$1.82 ($290.36) with a movement of 81 loads (34.30 loads of choice, 16.17 loads 
of select, 8.39 loads of trim and 21.97 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is trading lower into Tuesday's noon hour as 
traders are waiting to see what develops fundamentally before they'll likely 
advance the contracts much higher again this week. But even with today's slight 
correction, the spot January contract is still trading above the market's 
100-day moving average which emphasizes the market's underlying bullish nature. 
November feeders are down $0.87 at $248.27, January feeders are down $1.22 at 
$245.72 and March feeders are down $1.30 at $244.25.

LEAN HOGS:

   With the continued support of strong pork demand, traders are once again 
advancing the lean hog contracts into Tuesday's noon hour. December lean hogs 
are up $2.20 at $82.82, February lean hogs are up $1.07 at $85.30 and April 
lean hogs are up $0.47 at $87.60. And thankfully the steady gains seen 
throughout pork cutout values have helped keep traders engaged in the 
marketplace even though most of the contracts are already trading contract 
highs.

   The projected lean hog index for 10/28/2024 is up $0.18 at $85.73 and the 
actual index for 10/25/2024 is up $0.12 at $85.55. Hog prices are unavailable 
on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we 
can see that only 1,409 head have traded throughout the day and that the 
market's five-day rolling average now sits at $74.79. Pork cutouts total 164.86 
loads with 138.95 loads of pork cuts and 25.91 loads of trim. Pork cutout 
values: up $0.26, $102.21.

   ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com

    

    




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