DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/25 11:43

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/25 11:43 Traders Let Cattle Contracts Drift Lower Ahead of Cattle on Feed Report With no new cash cattle sales having been reported, it's likely the bulk of the week's trade is essentially done with. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: With the monthly Cattle on Feed report scheduled to be released later this afternoon, it is no surprise to see traders playing it cautiously in the cattle complex ahead of that report's unveil. No new cash cattle trade has been noted and at this point, it's likely that the bulk of the week's trade is essentially done with. December corn is down 6 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $5.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 45.09 points. LIVE CATTLE: After rallying substantially through Thursday's market, the live cattle complex is trading lower into Friday's noon hour as the week's momentum is beginning to fizzle out. And it's not unusual either to see the cattle complex trading cautiously ahead of the Cattle on Feed report's release. No new trade has been noted in the fed cash cattle market, and at this point, it looks like the bulk of the week's trade is virtually done with. Thus far throughout the week, Southern live cattle have been marked at $190 and Northern dressed cattle were sold at $298 -- both of which were $2.00 higher than last week's weighted average. December live cattle are down $0.45 at $188.80, February live cattle are down $0.40 at $189.55 and April live cattle are down $0.37 at $189.97. Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $0.92 ($322.09) and select up $0.97 ($295.31) with a movement of 59 loads (28.17 loads of choice, 10.82 loads of select, 8.52 loads of trim and 11.97 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: With the live cattle complex trading lower, it comes as no surprise that feeders are also trading hesitantly and are entering Friday's noon hour fully lower. The spot January feeder cattle contract continues to dance around the market's 100-day moving average as trades are uncertain if they possess enough support to boldly maintain their position above that threshold. Placements and on-feed totals are expected to be lighter than a year ago in this afternoon's Cattle on Feed report -- which would lend the feeder cattle market some support early next week. November feeders are down $1.17 at $247.35, January feeders are down $1.22 at $244.30 and March feeders are down $1.07 at $242.80. LEAN HOGS: The lean hog complex is trading higher into Friday's noon hour as the market is pleased to see a sharp spike in the morning's carcass price -- although the $3.40 jump is a little skewed as the belly alone jumped $10.76. But regardless of the rhyme or reason, traders are seeing higher cutout prices as a sign of improved demand which always bodes well for the market. December lean hogs are up $0.15 at $78.80, February lean hogs are up $0.02 at $82.82 and April lean hogs are up $0.10 at $86.35. The projected lean hog index for 10/24/2024 is up $0.22 at $85.43 and the actual index for 10/23/2024 is up $0.54 at $85.20. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.93 with a weighted average price of $74.42, ranging from $74.00 to $77.00 on 1,634 head and a five-day rolling average of $74.85. Pork cutouts total 152.42 loads with 134.33 loads of pork cuts and 18.09 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $3.40, $101.55. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.