DTN Midday Livestock Comments 02/25 11:59

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 02/25 11:59 Strong Cattle Buying Support Continues Thursday Follow-through buying continues in feeder cattle markets Thursday morning. This is sparking additional interest through live cattle trade, pushing both February and April live cattle futures more than $1 per cwt higher at midday. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Strong triple-digit gains continue to hold across the live cattle and feeder cattle markets as traders firmly hold to the ability to focus on tightening supplies and the ability to draw additional buyer interest back into the market. Lean hog futures remain slightly lower despite sluggish trade. Corn prices are lower. March corn futures are 4 cents lower. Stock markets are mixed in light trade. The Dow Jones is 46 points higher while Nasdaq is down 16 points. LIVE CATTLE: Live cattle futures have broken out of the narrow trading range seen early Thursday following additional price support in the boxed beef report as firm follow-through support is developing in both February and April contracts. This is helping to draw spillover buying into all nearby and deferred contracts. Trade is expected to remain light through the rest of the session, although buyer interest remains firm. Cash cattle markets remain untested Thursday with a few bids seen in the North at $112 per cwt coming from regional packers. No prices are seen from packers in the South at this point, which may limit activity until Friday. Asking prices are at $138 to $140 in the South and $215 and higher in the North. Beef cut-outs at midday are higher, $0.72 higher (select) and up $0.98 per cwt (choice) with light movement of 84 total loads reported (44 loads of choice cuts, 13 loads of select cuts, 9 loads of trimmings, 18 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: Feeder cattle futures continue to hold triple-digit gains Thursday morning with tight trading ranges. Although support has fallen away from early session highs, the ability to hold gains above $1 per cwt continues to keep markets significantly strong as traders look for increased buyer input over the next couple of hours. LEAN HOGS: Light pressure developed Thursday morning through the lean hog futures with traders quickly backing away from the aggressive nearby gains seen Wednesday. The firm tone continues to hold across the complex, but short-covering continues to develop as nearby contracts are 10 to 25 cents per cwt lower. Cash prices are lower on the National Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $0.50 per cwt to $62.03 per cwt with the range from $62.03 to $65.00 per cwt on 4,445 head reported sold. Cash prices lower on the Iowa Minnesota Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $0.23 per cwt to $62.03 per cwt with the range from $62.03 to $65.00 per cwt on 1,605 head reported sold. The National Pork Plant Report reported 217 loads selling with prices up $0.29 per cwt. Lean hog index for 2/23 is at $66.49 up 0.09, with a projected two-day index of $66.52, up 0.03. Rick Kment can be reached at rick.kment@dtn.com (ES) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.