DTN Midday Livestock Comments 01/11 12:13

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 01/11 12:13 Feeder Cattle Rebound at Midday Monday Live cattle and feeder cattle futures have rebounded at midday following early losses. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Live cattle and feeder cattle futures have rebounded at midday following early losses. The ability for beef values to hold another strong rally Monday continues to bring support to the complex and build underlying fundamental strength. Aggressive early losses in cattle trade has been quickly replaced by mixed trade in both cattle and hog futures. The focus through the market has continued to be based on the ability for feeder cattle futures to rebound through midmorning from sharp losses as the morning has developed. Corn prices are lower in light trade. March corn futures are 7 cents higher. Stock markets are lower in light trade. The Dow Jones is 14 points lower, while Nasdaq is up 28 points. LIVE CATTLE: Moderate-to-sharp losses in live cattle futures seen through most of the morning have been replaced by narrowly mixed trade at midday. February futures are holding a 30-cent gain as traders focus on the ability of feeder cattle futures to rebound from the sharp triple-digit losses seen early Monday. The strong triple-digit gains seen in boxed beef values continue to give underlying fundamental support to live cattle futures, although traders are being quickly influenced by swift moves in outside markets. This could quickly shift the direction of the market through the next two hours. Cash cattle markets remain relatively quiet Monday morning following lower trade last week. There are a few bids developing at $132 to $133 in the south, as packers remain short-bought. Show lists remain generally larger. Beef cut-outs at midday are higher, $2.45 higher (select) and up $2.97 per cwt (choice) with light movement of 60 total loads reported (24 loads of choice cuts, 5 loads of select cuts, 4 loads of trimmings, 27 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: Light buyer support has slowly started to develop through nearby feeder cattle futures at midday, with January-through-April contracts holding narrow gains as the strong grip of seller activity seems to have finally loosened a bit. There may be some additional price volatility developing through the rest of the session, although a previous push higher during the morning session was unable to hold and gave way to triple-digit losses later in the morning. A close above $160 per cwt in front-month January futures may help to draw buyer support back to the complex through the week and reestablish some technical support through the entire complex. LEAN HOGS: Lean hog futures remain mixed early Monday, with prices hovering from 35 cents lower to 40 cents higher at midday. Even though the range has expanded as the morning has continued, the fact that both sides of the price range have widened has created even more market uncertainty. It is unlikely that any change will be seen through the end of the session. Traders are looking for markets to coast into closing bell holding the same wide but mixed price range. Packing plant issues have reduced slaughter numbers for the day, which is expected to adjust total hog slaughter to 322,000 to 325,000 head for the day. It is uncertain at this time if these delays will be carried over through Tuesday, and just how much of this can be made up through the rest of the week at each of these plants. Cash prices were unreported at midday. The National Pork Plant Report reported 197 loads selling with prices up $0.50 per cwt. Lean hog index for 1/6 is at $53.50 up 0.21, with a projected two-day index of $53.73, up 0.23. Rick Kment can be reached at rick.kment@dtn.com (ES) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.