DTN Midday Livestock Comments          12/01 12:05

   Cattle Contracts Finding Support Through Tuesday's Trade

   The lean hog market was hoping to trade higher yet again following Monday's 
support but as Tuesday got closer and closer to the noon hour the lean hog 
market's support faded.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

   General Comments

   As Tuesday nears the noon hour the cattle contracts are trading higher while 
the support that was helping move the lean hog market higher earlier in the day 
has quickly dwindled. The cash cattle market is still quiet with bids yet to 
surface. March corn is down 2 cents per bushel and January soybean meal is up 
$0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 261.04 points and NASDAQ is up 
173.74 points.

   LIVE CATTLE

   Feedlots are thankful to see minor support building in the live cattle 
market following Monday's disappointing trade. Feedlots have full intentions to 
move this week's cash cattle market higher again but doing so is always easier 
when the board helps support the movement. Bids have yet to hit the table this 
week but asking prices of $112 to $113 have been noted in the South while 
asking prices in the North are still unknown. December live cattle are up $0.12 
at $110.30, February live cattle are down $0.12 at $112.75 and April live 
cattle are up $0.10 at $116.50. There may be some cash cattle development 
starting Wednesday after the online sale, but the marketplace is expected to 
sit quietly until then.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.34 ($243.34) and select up $1.69 
($224.12) with a movement of 67 loads (44.59 loads of choice, 6.78 loads of 
select, 7.68 loads of trim and 7.68 loads of ground beef).

   FEEDER CATTLE

   The feeder cattle contracts have been bound and determined early this week 
to trade higher and with the corn market's slight regression, so long as trader 
interest continues to be present, the market should be able to close higher 
again Tuesday afternoon. As the nearby contracts dance above the $140 to $141 
threshold, the contracts may start to feel some pressure and will have to 
decide how much more upward momentum the short-term market has. January feeders 
are up $0.77 at $141.82, March feeders are up $0.90 at $140.87 and April 
feeders are up $1.00 at $142.07.

   LEAN HOGS

   The lean hog market was trading confidently Tuesday morning but as the noon 
hour approaches the market has shifted to trading lower in nearby contracts 
while still trading somewhat higher in the deferred contract. Without 
follow-through support in the pork cutout value, the market fells unsupported 
and trades cautiously. December lean hogs are down $0.67 at $66.87, February 
lean hogs are down $0.35 at $68.22 and April lean hogs are down $0.45 at 
$70.90.  

   The projected lean hog for 11/30/2020 is down $0.14 with a weighted average 
of $66.67 and the actual index for 11/27/2020 is down $0.34 at $66.81. Hog 
prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.39 with a 
weighted average of $56.28, ranging from $48.00 to $57.00 on 6,944 head and a 
five-day rolling average of $56.64. Pork cutouts total 267.24 loads with 230.35 
loads of pork cuts and 36.89 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $2.35, 
$77.74.

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

    

    

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