DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/28 11:47

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/28 11:47 Mixed Tones Summarize Livestock Complex at Monday's Noon Hour The cattle complex is trading mixed into Monday's noon hour as the live cattle arena isn't thrilled with Friday's note on the Cattle on Feed report that on-feed totals are steady with a year ago, but the feeder cattle complex is rallying upon lower placements. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Thus far it's been a mixed day for the market as both the lean hog and feeder cattle markets are rallying, but the live cattle complex is unsure. Demand will be a key factor affecting the markets again this week as packers need to see continued consumer demand. December corn is down 3 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $0.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 274.42 points. LIVE CATTLE: The live cattle complex seems to be caught in a holding mindset thus far through Monday's trade as the market hopes to find continued fundamental support this week but won't likely find the answers it hopes for until later in the week when the cash cattle market trades and until packers have a better understanding of what consumer demand is going to amount to last week. Thankfully, fundamental demand was ample last week as cash prices traded $2.00 higher, boxed beef prices saw consistent support and the week's slaughter was aggressive compared to weeks past at 623,000 head. The other factor that may be slightly hindering the live cattle complex this morning is that Friday's Cattle on Feed report showed that on-feed numbers were steady with last year -- but it's likely traders don't spend much time fretting over that report as thankfully other market fundamentals are strong and continue to be encouraging. December live cattle are down $0.17 at $188.97, February live cattle are down $0.07 at $189.85 and April live cattle are up $0.12 at $190.47. New showlists appear to be somewhat lower in Nebraska/Colorado, and lower in Kansas and Texas. Last week Southern live cattle traded at mostly $190 which is $2.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $298 which is also $2.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $2.37 ($324.61) and select down $0.66 ($294.42) with a movement of 44 loads (24.61 loads of choice, 9.66 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 9.76 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: The feeder cattle complex is rallying into Monday's noon hour as the market was well supported by Friday's Cattle on Feed report which showed placements down 2% compared to a year ago. Today's supportive nature has helped propel the spot January contract further above the market's 100-day moving average, which continues to be a threshold the market dances around. But if fundamental support continues to prevail this week, there's a chance that traders could advance the market to the point they're far from that previous resistance point and no longer worry about slipping below that price point. November feeders are up $0.30 at $248.87, January feeders are up $0.65 at $246.25 and March feeders are up $0.77 at $244.75. LEAN HOGS: With tremendous support from consumers, the lean hog complex is yet again rallying into Monday's noon hour. What's interesting about the pork cutout report this morning is that substantial gains are currently being seen across the vast majority of the cuts, which indicates that consumer demand is widespread. This morning the loin is up $6.54, the picnic is up $4.88 and the belly is up $4.09 -- to list the biggest gains seen this morning. December lean hogs are up $0.67 at $80.35, February lean hogs are up $0.37 at $83.80 and April lean hogs are up $0.15 at $85.80. The projected lean hog index for 10/25/2024 is up $0.12 at $85.55 and the actual index for 10/24/2024 is up $0.22 at $85.43. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 199 head have traded and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $74.97. Pork cutouts total 137.92 loads with 118.05 loads of pork cuts and 19.87 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $4.05, $102.99. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.