DTN Midday Livestock Comments 07/15 11:49

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 07/15 11:49 Livestock Futures Slide Lower on End-of-Week Positioning Moderate to aggressive pressure is seen through the entire livestock complex as end of the week position taking is posting triple-digit losses in several cattle futures contracts. Lean hog futures have turned lower, led by deferred contracts posting aggressive late-week pressure. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Moderate to strong pressure is seen in all livestock futures Friday morning with traders in the cattle market pulling back from previous support seen earlier in the week. Position taking continues to be the main order of business and likely to limit support through the rest of the session. Corn prices are mixed in light trade. September corn futures are 1 cent higher. Stock markets are lower in light trade. The Dow Jones is 6 points lower while Nasdaq is down 8 points. LIVE CATTLE: Moderate losses have developed through the live cattle futures complex Friday morning as traders are taking the opportunity of lightly traded futures markets and little additional cash or outside market direction to focus on position taking after a week of strong midweek gains. August live cattle futures posted gains of nearly $4 per cwt in the previous two trading sessions. This type of market rally will bring position squaring into any market, which is the main driver of Friday's market activity. Cash cattle markets are still quiet Friday morning with just a few bids seen in the North at $186 to $187 per cwt. Although it is expected that packers will still need to gain access to more cattle before the week is over, it may be late Friday afternoon until the two sides can come to terms. The lack of movement in bids through the week may indicate that prices may not move significantly from sales seen early in the week. Asking prices remain at $120 to $122 per cwt live basis in the South and $190 and higher dressed basis in the North. Beef cut-outs at midday are higher $0.18 higher (select) and up $0.37 per cwt (choice) with moderate movement of 71 total loads reported (39 loads of choice cuts, 14 loads of select cuts, 6 loads of trimmings, 12 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: Buyers have quickly backed out of the complex Friday morning with very little additional direction seen through the complex is causing traders to quickly back away from previous gains. Losses are seen from 50 cents to $2.30 per cwt at midday as traders use the lightly traded market to adjust positions in front of the weekend. LEAN HOGS: Sharp losses are seen in deferred lean hog futures complex, which is adding pressure to the entire complex. The inability for buyers to step back into the market after mixed trade the previous two sessions is creating concerns that markets may not have enough momentum to draw additional buyer activity back into the complex. Nearby futures continue to hold light to moderate losses of 30 to 60 cents per cwt, while deferred futures are posting losses of $120 to $1.80 per cwt as the market tone continues to weaken through the session. Cash prices are lower on the National Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $1.44 per cwt to $72.52 per cwt with the range from $66.00 to $73.50 per cwt on 2,396 head reported sold. Cash prices are lower on the Iowa Minnesota Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $1.13 per cwt to $73.16 per cwt with the range from $72.95 to $73.50 per cwt on 595 head reported sold. The National Pork Plant Report reported 143 loads selling with prices adding $0.37 per cwt. Lean hog index for 7/13 is at $81.00, down 0.60 with a projected two-day index of $80.46 down 0.54. Rick Kment can be reached at rick.kment@dtn.com (CZ) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.