DTN Midday Livestock Comments 06/14 11:51

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 06/14 11:51 Livestock Futures Move Toward Noon Hour with Mixed Prices Live and feeder cattle contracts are mixed with deferreds better supported than nearbys. Prices are also uneven in the lean hog trade near midday as spot June prepares to expire. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Cattle country is extremely quiet with virtually no definition of cash potential, either in terms of certain bids or theoretical asking prices. Both sides are no doubt watching the board, delaying specific opinions until probably Thursday or Friday. According to the midday report, the national hog base is 0.42 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($70.00-78.75, weighted average $77.88). Corn futures are fractional higher at this time, recovering from early selling pressure (tied to a strong dollar and struggling beans) in light volume. U.S. stocks are trading lower amid declines in oil prices. Currently, the Dow is off by 51 points with the Nasdaq down 10. LIVE CATTLE: Live action is mixed at midday, up 40 to down 147. Virtually all of the selling interest is focused on spot June and nearby August. The front-end continued to be pressured by follow-through selling and beef demand worries. Deferreds are moderately higher, probably thanks to the unwinding of bull spreads. Beef cut-outs are moderately higher at midday, up 0.39 (choice, $227.95) to 0.64 (select, $202.63) with light box movement (32 loads of choice cuts, 13 loads of select cuts, 8 loads of trimmings, 18 loads of coarse grinds). FEEDER CATTLE: While business has been choppy in the feeder trade through the morning, contracts are moderately higher as we move toward the top of the noon hour. For the moment, feeders may be somewhat supported by short covering and the premium status of the cash index. LEAN HOGS: The lean hog trade is mixed as biz moves toward the final hour. Once again, July through August seems to be attracting the most buying interest. Spot June expires at high noon and seems well calibrated vis--vis the most recent cash index. Carcass value is solidly higher at midday with all primals estimate higher except the loin. Pork cut-out: $88.22, up 0.93. CME cash lean index for 06/10: 80.77, up 0.35 (DTN Projected lean index for 06/13: 81.10, up 0.33). John A. Harrington can be reached at john.harrington@dtn.com (CZ) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.