DTN Midday Livestock Comments 11/14 12:12

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 11/14 12:12 Firm December Live Cattle Rally Holds at Midday Despite trading in a narrowly mixed trading range through most of the morning, strong buyer support quickly developed in nearby live cattle futures midday Monday. This pushed spot month futures above $106 per cwt with contracts holding gains over $1 per cwt and is drawing additional commercial buyer support back into the market. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Cattle futures rallied higher at midday after live cattle markets posted narrowly mixed trade through most of the morning. This ability to quickly move December live cattle futures above the $106 per cwt price level has sparked additional buyer interest back into the market. A close above this level will help sustain additional follow through support. Hog futures remain weak, but have pulled back from early session lows based on the support seen in cattle trade at midday. Corn prices are lower light trade. December corn futures are 3 cents lower. Stock markets are lower in light trade. The Dow Jones is 11 points lower while Nasdaq is down 26 points. LIVE CATTLE: Strong gains have redeveloped in nearby live cattle futures at midday despite mixed trade through most of the morning. The ability for live cattle futures to push nearby December futures above $106 per cwt and hold a $1 per cwt gain at midday helped to draw increased commercial support back into the market. This not only sustained prices above resistance levels set over the past three weeks, but also sparked increased momentum in all nearby contracts, helping to draw additional activity into the feeder cattle market at midday. Cash cattle markets are undeveloped Monday, which is typical for this time of week with show lists remaining generally steady to potentially slightly smaller in the North. This continues to focus on the steady to tight supply issues that have been facing the market, but with demand also remaining lackluster packer margins have eased, limiting the expectation of cash support at this point. Even though packers are expected to remain short bought, active trade may be delayed until the second half of the week. Beef cut-outs at midday are mixed $1.57 higher (select) and down $0.41 per cwt (choice) with light movement of 71 total loads reported (35 loads of choice cuts, 10 loads of select cuts, 11 loads of trimmings, 15 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: Strong triple-digit gains have quickly developed in feeder cattle futures Monday morning. The support has been driven by gains in January contracts reaching $2.70 per cwt through late morning and helping to set the tone for higher buyer support in all cattle markets. Traders quickly moved away from early morning stagnant market issues as traders looked for increased support in both the live cattle and feeder cattle markets. LEAN HOGS: Moderate pressure continues to hold through lean hog futures at midday, but traders have backed away from triple digit losses based on additional volume stepping back into the market. Firming cash values in the Iowa/Minnesota morning report helped to stabilize the futures trade although the underlying tone of the complex remains unstable at this point. There may remain some additional pressure developing through all nearby and deferred lean hog futures through the week, although the focus on pork values continues to look good heading into the holidays and through the remainder of the year. Cash prices are lower on the National Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price fell $0.33 per cwt to $40.86 per cwt with the range from $39.00 to $42.00 on 5,324 head reported sold. Cash prices are higher on the Iowa Minnesota Direct morning cash hog report. The weighted average price added $0.12 per cwt to $41.27 per cwt with the range from $39.00 to $42.00 on 2,086 head reported sold. The National Pork Plant Report reported 165 loads selling with prices adding $1.58 per cwt. Lean hog index for 11/10 is at $49.20 down $0.35 with a projected two-day index of $48.46 down $0.74. Rick Kment can be reached at rick.kment@dtn.com (ES) Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.