DTN Midday Livestock Comments 08/27 11:50

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 08/27 11:50 Traders Continue to Push Livestock Complex Higher Tuesday Still no bids or asking prices noted in the cash cattle market Tuesday, as feedlot managers are hoping the board's support will stick around and prices may be able to trade steady this week. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: The livestock complex is doing rather well as we approach Tuesday's noon hour with all three markets trading higher. Still no cash cattle trade has developed and it's unlikely any will ahead of Wednesday. December corn is up 6 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $2.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 84.69 points. LIVE CATTLE: It's invigorating to see the live cattle complex continuing to trade higher, especially given the market is continuing to inch closer and closer to its 100-day moving average. If traders elect to push the complex above that moving average, it would show substantial technical support and could potentially mean traders are finding more comfort in the market despite the fact that presidential and economic pressures loom. October live cattle are up $2.27 at $179.25, December live cattle are up $2.20 at $178.57 and February live cattle are up $2.00 at $179.32. Still no action has developed in the cash cattle complex and won't likely until sometime after Wednesday. Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $0.38 ($316.28) and select up $3.48 ($303.67) with a movement of 77 loads (47.28 loads of choice, 14.29 loads of select, 7.04 loads of trim and 8.21 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: With the live cattle complex trading notably higher, the feeder cattle market hasn't struggled whatsoever to keep its higher trend either. September feeders are up $1.10 at $242.45, October feeders are up $1.75 at $239.22 and November feeders are up $2.07 at $236.82. So long as the live cattle complex continues to trade in a higher manner, the feeder cattle market shouldn't struggle as traders are lending the market all the support it needs. Not to mention, even though feeder cattle prices trended mostly lower last week, on Monday afternoon the CME Feeder Cattle Index did close $1.13 higher, indicating buyers are still aggressively seeking calves. LEAN HOGS: After merely coasting through Monday, the lean hog market is back to rallying. October lean hogs are up $1.92 at $82.32, December lean hogs are up $1.07 at $71.77 and February lean hogs are up $0.77 at $74.37. If the market continues to rally as aggressively as it has over the last week, the spot October contract could run into some resistance pressure around $72.50 -- which the market hasn't traded above since the middle of June. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 8/26/2024 is down $0.04 at $87.82, and the actual index for 8/23/2024 is down $0.36 at $87.86. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $80.23, ranging from $79.00 to $81.00 on 1,431 head and a five-day rolling average of $81.51. Pork cutouts total 170.42 loads with 148.99 loads of pork cuts and 21.43 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.03, $95.01. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.