DTN Midday Livestock Comments 04/30 12:07

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 04/30 12:07 Livestock Contracts Trade Unevenly Across the Board Heading into Thursday's lunch hour, the livestock complex trades merely every which-way possible. By ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst General Comments Livestock contracts are trading unevenly across the board heading into Thursday's noon hour. Live cattle contracts are split, lean hogs are higher, and the feeder cattle contracts are lower. As the market continues to trade in disarray, various movements are expected. July corn is up 4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is up $5.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 401.65 points and NASDAQ is down 77.08 points. LIVE CATTLE Live cattle contracts let nearby contracts trade higher while the demand for deferred months is slim. June live cattle are up $0.17 at $84.45, August live cattle are up $0.15 at $90.92 and October live cattle are down $0.05 at $95.57. For the most part the complex is just teetering back and forth from steady without huge advancements made on either side. As for cash cattle, the country remains slow following Wednesday's light round of trade in the North at $150. More business could take place in the South, but the North is most likely closer to being done for the week than not. The only developing news for the day was that Tyson announced they would be closing their Dakota City, Nebraska, plant Friday through Monday to perform a deep clean. Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $7.24 ($364.62) and select up $4.15 ($344.06) with a movement of 62 loads (42.46 loads of choice, 15.24 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 4.71 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE Feeder cattle contracts are solidly $1.00 lower without a lot of excitement developing. May feeders are down $1.17 at $117.37, August feeders are down $0.97 at $127.42 and September feeders are down $0.85 at $128.82. As feedlots become more and more overwhelmed with the supply of fat cattle backing up, it pressures not only the fat cattle market as supply grows but also the feeder cattle market as prices continue to fall and space for new placements becomes meek. LEAN HOGS Lean hog contracts are looking to regain what Wednesday let go of. Nearby contracts are trading easily above $1.00 higher and deferred contracts aren't far behind. June lean hogs are up $2.77 at $58.30, July lean hogs are up $1.35 at $59.82 and August lean hogs are up $1.12 at $62.22. cash prices weren't available for cash Thursday morning due to confidentiality issues but hopefully the afternoon cash market will be able to energize off the board rally and push prices higher as well. The projected lean hog index for 4/28/2020 is up $2.54 at $52.26, and the actual index for 4/27/2020 is up $0.74 at $49.72. Hog prices on the National Direct Morning Hog Report are unavailable due to confidentiality. Pork cutouts total 125.87 loads with 112.68 loads of pork cuts and 13.18 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $7.87, $98.60. ShayLe Stewart can be reached [email protected] (CZ) Copyright 2020 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.