DTN Midday Livestock Comments 11/14 11:50

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 11/14 11:50 Weaker Boxed Beef Prices, Lower Cash Sales Send Live Cattle Contracts Lower Bids of $185 live are currently offered in Nebraska and Kansas, but following Wednesday's thin movement of dressed sales, there haven't been any more cattle traded yet Thursday. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: The feeder cattle complex has been the only livestock market able to keep its upward trend through Thursday's trade. Both the live cattle and lean hog contracts are trading lower into Thursday's noon hour as a lack of consumer support mixed with weaker cash sales doesn't give traders much hope for the market's technical side of things. December corn is down 6 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $2.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 137.01 points. LIVE CATTLE: Even though it was assumed cash cattle prices would be steady at best this week, the live cattle complex is trading lower as traders are disgruntled by the light trade that developed Wednesday afternoon in the North at $290, which is $3.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Bids of $185 are currently offered in the South, but no live sales have been reported at this point. Asking prices for live cattle in the South range from $187 to $189, and in the North at $292-plus. But the combination of lower boxed beef prices and weaker cash cattle sales has been enough pressure to send the live cattle contracts trailing lower into Thursday's noon hour. December live cattle are down $0.92 at $183.10, February live cattle are down $0.77 at $185.30, and April live cattle are down $0.52 at $187.15. Bids of $185 live are being noted in Kansas and Nebraska, but no new sales have developed yet Thursday. Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $2.66 ($304.28) and select down $2.04 ($276.62) with a movement of 105 loads (69.15 loads of choice, 14.19 loads of select, 7.27 loads of trim and 14.13 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: Although the live cattle complex is trading lower, the feeder cattle market can't help but trade higher as the market notes the decline in corn prices Thursday morning and finds that to be a big enough supporting factor to drive the feeder cattle contracts higher. November feeders are up $1.00 at $247.47, January feeders are up $0.07 at $243.72, and March feeders are up $0.12 at $242.32. Thursday's continued support in the feeder cattle market is again keeping the contract from dipping back down below its 100-day moving average, which has been a threshold the market has struggled to confidently pass by. LEAN HOGS: It's one thing to watch the belly trade $5.00 to $10.00 lower, but it's another to see the belly dive $25.68 lower! The dramatic dive in the belly Thursday morning, which inevitably affected the carcass prices, has been enough fundamental disarray to worry traders, which is why the complex is trading $1.00 to $2.00 lower. December lean hogs are down $2.17 at $79.70, February lean hogs are down $2.72 at $83.30, and April lean hogs are down $2.30 at $87.85. And following Wednesday's big movement in the cash hog complex, it's unlikely the market will see much more sales happen in that sector this week. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 11/13/2024 is down $0.16 at $89.78, and the actual index for 11/12/2024 is up $0.06 at $89.94. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.81 with a weighted average price of $87.18, ranging from $78.00 to $89.00 on 1,883 head and a five-day rolling average of $86.96. Pork cutouts totaled 177.68 loads with 160.64 loads of pork cuts and 17.04 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $4.23, $93.03. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.