DTN Midday Livestock Comments 09/20 11:43

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 09/20 11:43 Cash Cattle Prices Jump $2.00 Higher Northern dressed cattle are currently being reported at $290 and Southern live cattle are trading at $183 -- both of which are $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: With the cash cattle market noting prices $2.00 higher in both the Northern and Southern plains, both the live cattle and feeder cattle markets are rallying into Friday's noon hour. Later this afternoon the monthly Cattle on Feed report will be released which could affect trade early next week. December corn is down 3 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $4.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 31.83 points. LIVE CATTLE: With the cash cattle market seeing prices being reported $2.00 higher in both regions, traders are celebrating the fact that the market's fundamentals are helping add to their supportive note this week and are once again advancing the contracts higher. October live cattle are up $1.75 at $181.75, December live cattle are up $1.70 at $182.85 and February live cattle are up $1.15 at $183.55. It was just this week that the market conquered its 40-day moving average in the spot December contract, and now the market is close to nearing its 100-day moving average which would be one heck of a technical feat. But this is a great lesson that when the market's fundamentals and technical components support one another, a change in direction is possible. There have been a few cash cattle sales in the North at $290 which is $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average, and some live sales have been noted in the South at $183 which is also $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average. Some Northern cattle have been requested for delivery as soon as next 9/30/2024 indicating that packers are shorter bought than they'd ideally like. Please note that later this afternoon the monthly Cattle on Feed report will be released. Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.11 ($300.67) and select up $1.33 ($289.59) with a movement of 82 loads (56.81 loads of choice, 6.17 loads of select, 5.75 loads of trim and 13.51 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: With the support of a higher trending live cattle complex and the cash cattle market easily trading $2.00 higher on fed cattle, the feeder cattle complex is again rallying into the day's noon hour. Not only is it praiseworthy that the feeder cattle complex is rallying ahead of a Cattle on Feed report, but from a technical standpoint, the market is showing confidence as traders just advanced the spot October contract beyond its 40-day moving average which the market hasn't traded above since July. It seems as though the market is taking on a more bullish approach thanks to the Fed's interest rate announcement earlier this week, and then combined with the support of better trader interest and higher fed cash cattle prices -- the feeder cattle market is well supported. October feeders are up $0.55 at $244.22, November feeders are up $0.57 at $241.92 and January feeders are up $0.87 at $237.00. LEAN HOGS: After rallying aggressively earlier this week, the nearby lean hog contracts are showing some late-week exhaustion but thankfully the deferred contracts are continuing to press onward. October lean hogs are down $0.05 at $82.20, December lean hogs are down $0.12 at $74.17 and February lean hogs are up $0.15 at $77.47. Not helping matters is the fact that pork cutout values are slightly lower, and more than anything traders seem to be hitting the pause button on the complex until next week as they've already pushed the nearby contracts to prices not last seen since June. The projected lean hog index for 9/19/2024 is down $0.02 at $84.36 and the actual index for 9/18/2024 is up $0.16 at $84.38. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $2.14 with a weighted average price of $78.45, ranging from $75.00 to $80.00 on 1,137 head and a five-day rolling average of $76.82. Pork cutouts total 146.20 loads with 131.73 loads of pork cuts and 14.47 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.31, $94.50. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.