DTN Midday Livestock Comments 03/29 11:57

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 03/29 11:57 Mixed Trade Holds in Cattle Trade Tuesday Morning Cattle futures remain narrowly mixed midday Tuesday with the focus on lack of beef market support in the morning boxed beef report and sluggish buyer interest returning to the market. Buyers still remain firm across the lean hog complex, holding light to moderate gains at midday, but lack of cash market support is drawing concern about follow through support. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Mixed trade in a narrow range is seen across cattle trade Tuesday morning as light trade volume has developed following the morning activity which quickly stepped into the complex. Lean hog activity remains firm, with light to moderate gains still able to hold across the complex, although the lack of cash market support is limiting nearby support. Corn prices are higher. May corn futures are 1 cent higher. Stock markets are higher in light trade. The Dow Jones is 80 points higher while Nasdaq is up 48 points. LIVE CATTLE: Live cattle futures are holding mixed trade at midday also, similar to the moves in the feeder cattle market, but price levels in the live cattle market remain grouped in a very tight trading range. April futures are holding 20 cent losses while other nearby contracts have expanded midday gains to 15 cents per cwt. Even though tight trading ranges are expected to continue through the rest of the session, it is likely that prices are likely to widen near closing bell as additional trade support steps back into the market. Cash cattle markets remain quiet Tuesday with bids unavailable and likely will remain that way through midweek. Asking prices are generally light, but cash be seen from $138 and higher in the South and $220 and higher in the North, although at this point price discovery is just in theory as both sides are not actively at the table. The lack of direction of futures markets is likely to keep both sides unwilling to aggressively pushing to make decisions at this point. This is likely to delay active trade until the second half of the week even though packer are expected to remain short bought yet once again. Beef cut-outs at midday are mixed, $0.30 lower (select) and up $1.17 per cwt (choice) with moderate movement of 97 total loads reported (50 loads of choice cuts, 23 loads of select cuts, 8 loads of trimmings, 15 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: Mixed feeder cattle futures are seen midday as April contracts are leading the complex higher with a 72 cent rally based on follow through buyer support from morning trade activity, while light to moderate pressure is seen in deferred contracts based on lack of market activity and uncertainty about long term demand activity. The instability of beef values on the cutout report Tuesday morning once again put additional uncertainty in the entire cattle complex, leading to concerns of market softness. LEAN HOGS: Light to moderate gains continue to hold across lean hog futures as buyer interest is being maintained following the aggressive triple digit support seen across the complex Monday. The support in the complex seen in the market continues to build on the sell-off seen through the last week as traders focus on stepping back into the complex, but remain extremely cautious given lack of support in cash markets at this point. Cash prices are lower on the National Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $1.29 per cwt to $59.68 per cwt with the range from $53.00 to $63.50 per cwt on 3,555 head reported sold. Cash prices are unreported due to confidentiality on the Iowa Minnesota Direct morning cash hog report. The National Pork Plant Report reported 174 loads selling with prices up $0.15 per cwt. Lean hog index for 3/25 is at $65.06, down 0.33 with a projected two-day index of $64.93, down 0.13. Rick Kment can be reached at rick.kment@dtn.com (ES) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.