DTN Midday Livestock Comments 07/19 11:57

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 07/19 11:57 Cattle, Hog Futures Work Lower at Midday The cattle complex is moderately lower near midday, checked by long liquidation and uninspiring fundamentals. Hog futures are also trading lower in slow late morning action. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Though feedlot trade is generally quiet at midday, we have seen a few bids surface in parts of the North at $187. Some ready cattle in Nebraska and Iowa have been priced around $190. According to the midday report, the national hog base is .70 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($65.00-75.05, weighted average $71.36). Corn futures are being slapped hard in late-morning business with nearby contracts off 13-14 cents. Bearish pressure continues to build relative to excellent crop conditions and the potential of a bumper harvest this fall. Wall Street is sagging a bit after weeks of record highs for stocks. The Dow is off 9 points with the Nasdaq down by 19. LIVE CATTLE: Live issues open higher, but it wasn't long before selling energy reassembled. Contracts are 65 to 165 lower near the top of the noon hour with spot August catching most of the heat. Despite the large cash premium, the board continues to experience difficulty stabilizing. Intense summer heat and ideas of more dog days ahead do not help. Beef cut-outs are higher at midday, up .24 (choice, $202.81) to $1.34 (select, $192.45) with light to moderate box movement (46 loads of choice cuts, 27 loads of select cuts, zero loads of trimmings, 15 loads of coarse grinds). FEEDER CATTLE: Feeder futures are 72 to 120 lower at this time with deferred contracts losing ground to their nearby counterparts. It's a little surprising that this market has been unable to garner greater support from breaking corn prices. LEAN HOGS: Lean futures are 5 to 57 lower near midday, pressured by follow-through selling, struggling cash markets, and general fears of greater pork tonnage down the road. Carcass value at midday is modestly higher with all primals higher except the ham. Pork cut-out: $91.39, up .25. CME cash lean index for 07/15: 79.90, off .56 (DTN Projected lean index for 07/18: 79.13, off .77). John A. Harrington can be reached at john.harrington@dtn.com (CZ) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.