DTN Midday Livestock Comments 12/17 11:52

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 12/17 11:52 Meat Futures Struggle at Midday Thanks to General Commodity Sell-Off The cattle complex appeared to be swamped by selling interest at midday thanks to aggressive long liquidation and the bearish impact of outside markets. Lean hog contracts are also getting slammed near midday, pressured by spillover selling and new supply worries. By John Harrington DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Light cash trading is evident in several parts of cattle country near midday. Some live sales have surfaced in Kansas at $117, steady with yesterday but $2 lower than last week. Dressed deals have been turned in across pats of Nebraska at $184, steady with Wednesday but $3 lower than a week earlier. According to the midday report, the Iowa hog base is 0.48 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($48.50-50.00, weighted average $49.53). Corn futures are 3-4 cents lower in late morning business, pressured by poor export news and worries about further dollar strength in the wake of the Fed's raising interest rates. The Dow is 137 points lower at this writing with the Nasdaq off 36. LIVE CATTLE: Live contracts are generally 112 to 225 lower moving toward the top of the noon hour. Several new contract lows have been established and we could see even more damage between now and final settlements. The sell-off continues with the help of outside markers and fears that late month cash will simply not receive much breathing room within holiday-shortened slaughter schedules. Beef cut-outs are mixed at midday, up 0.30 (select, $185.21) to off 0.56 (choice, $196.34) with light box movement (37 loads of choice cuts, 13 loads of select cuts, 1 load of trimmings, 16 loads of coarse grinds). FEEDER CATTLE: Feeders are collapsing along with their live counterparts. Prices are generally 160 to 307 lower at this time with the majority of months notching new contract lows. Bearish psychology is as thick as pea soup with sellers oblivious to lower action in the corm market and the tall premium of the cash index. LEAN HOGS: Lean hogs have not been left out in today's bearish party. Triple-digit losses dominate the trade with prices near midday off 172 to 277. The premium structure of the board is clearly vulnerable to the bearish cast of late year fundamentals and the negatives vibes rumbling today through the entire commodity complex. The carcass value at midday is moderately lower with lower ribs, hams, and bellies overshadowing strength in fresh cuts. Pork cut-out: $72.77, off 0.49. CME cash lean 12/15: 55.88, off 0.02 (DTN Projected lean index for 12/16: 55.57, off 0.31). John A. Harrington can be reached at john.harrington@dtn.com (BAS) Copyright 2015 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.