DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/24 11:46

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/24 11:46 Traders Back Away From Hog Market After a Disappointing Export Report Still no cash cattle trade has developed but a single bid is currently offered in Nebraska at $186. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: It's another mixed day for the livestock complex as traders have waived their white flag in the hog complex after helping the December contract reach a new contract high just Wednesday; oppositely the cattle complex is again trading higher. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. December corn is up 3 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $4.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 310.58 points. Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 16,700 metric tons (mt) for 2024 were up 19% from the previous week and 11% of the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were South Korea (6,500 mt), China (4,600 mt) and Taiwan (1,800 mt). Pork net sales of 22,200 mt for 2024 were down 42% from the previous week and 45% from the prior 4-week average. The three primary buyers were Mexico (17,000 mt), China (8,800 mt) and Australia (4,700 mt). LIVE CATTLE: The live cattle complex is trading mostly higher at Thursday's noon hour although a few of the furthest deferred contracts are trading slightly lower. More than anything, Thursday's higher tone seems to be a slight bounce back from Wednesday's decline. December live cattle are up $0.22 at $188.10, February live cattle are up $0.57 at $189.20, and April live cattle are up $0.47 at $189.75. With boxed beef prices showing some weakness early Thursday, packers may be more patient to wait and bid on cattle until the very end of the week as they know feedlot managers are going to scrape for at least steady prices. It wouldn't be unlikely to see trade delayed until Friday's bitter end and after the week's Cattle on Feed report is released. There is a single bid of $186 currently offered in Nebraska, but the other side the market is completely silent. Asking prices are noted in the South at $190-plus but have not yet been established in the North. Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.05 ($320.36) and select down $0.68 ($295.09) with a movement of 87 loads (51.63 loads of choice, 17.21 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 17.69 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: The feeder cattle complex is following the live cattle market's direction yet again as it too wants to begin to recover from some of Wednesday's descent. Currently, the spot January contract is still trading below its 100-day moving average as traders are skeptical if there's enough support in the market currently to advance beyond that resistance plane. November feeders are up $0.45 at $247.67, January feeders are up $0.77 at $244.60, and March feeders are up $0.57 at $243.02. LEAN HOGS: The lean hog complex is currently lower as traders are disappointed in the morning's export report and need further fundamental support if they're going to advance the market any higher. It's going to be challenging for the market to trade much higher until fundamental support steam rolls into the marketplace as just Wednesday the spot December contract reached a new contract high. Nevertheless, it's likely that weakness could follow the market through closing. December lean hogs are down $1.60 at $78.57, February lean hogs are down $0.87 at $82.52, and April lean hogs are down $0.50 at $86.02. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.16 with a weighted average price of $75.35, ranging from $74.00 to $76.00 on 230 head and a five-day rolling average of $74.73. Pork cutouts total 184.84 loads with 153.60 loads of pork cuts and 31.24 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.82, $97.40. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.