DTN Midday Livestock Comments 04/12 12:01

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 04/12 12:01 Cattle Paper Rallies at Midday on Better Beef Demand News Live and feeder contracts are rallying at midday, pushing off early session lows with the help of sharply higher beef cut-outs. Lean hog futures are mostly lower with only spot April trading in the black. By John Harrington DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: The cash cattle trade is dead quiet near the noon hour with neither side volunteering many suggestions of value. We've heard a little talk in the South of showlists priced at $138 or better. The development of significant trade volume may be delayed until Thursday or Friday. According to the midday report, the national hog base is 0.74 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($55.00-63.00, weighted average $61.92). U.S. stocks are trading mostly higher with energy issues leading as crude topped $41 a barrel. The Dow is 151 points higher with the Nasdaq positive by 25. LIVE CATTLE: Live contracts opened lower thanks to spillover selling and long liquidation, but now seem to be firming. Most issues are now 7 to 72 points higher with June gaining on both spot April and the back of the pack. Beef cut-outs are sharply higher at midday, up $2.14 (select, $209.19) to $2.50 (choice, $218.95) with moderate to good box movement (61 loads of choice cuts, 18 loads of select cuts, 6 loads of trimmings, 18 loads of coarse grinds). FEEDER CATTLE: Feeder futures are following the live market, similarly recovering from early session lows. At this time, prices range from 15 to 87 higher. The relative firmness of nearbys suggest some bull-spreading interest in the midday mix. LEAN HOGS: Soon-to-expire spot April is 45 points higher at midday in predictably light volume. Yet the balance of the lean field is 7 to 30 lower thanks to a general lack of encouraging fundamentals. It would seem summer premiums need some good news from spot markets to help feed deferred confidence. The carcass value is moderately higher at midday, supported by the appreciation of all primals except the loin. Pork cut-out: $77.01, off 0.34. CME cash lean 04/08: 66.52, off 0.05 (DTN Projected lean index for 04/11: 66.64, up 0.12). John A. Harrington can be reached at john.harrington@dtn.com (ES) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.