DTN Midday Livestock Comments 12/05 11:47

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 12/05 11:47 Cattle Contracts Turn Lower While Waiting for Cash Cattle Trade to Develop Bids of $190 live and $297 dressed have surfaced, but still no cattle have traded at this point. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Both the live cattle and feeder cattle markets are trading lower as traders impatiently wait for this week's cash cattle trade to develop. Bids of $190 are currently being offered in the South, and bids of $297 are being offered in Nebraska. March corn is up 4 1/2 cents per bushel and January soybean meal is down $0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 148.39 points. Thursday's export sales report shared that beef net sales of 100 mt for 2024 -- a marketing year low -- were down 97% from the previous week and 99% from the prior 4-week average. The three primary buyers were Japan (1,700 mt), Canada (700 mt) and China (600 mt). Pork net sales of 35,200 mt for 2024 were up noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. The three primary buyers were Mexico (15,400 mt), South Korea (9,100 mt) and China (3,400 mt). LIVE CATTLE: The live cattle complex is venturing lower as traders are growing impatient while waiting for the cash cattle market to trade. Bids are currently being offered all throughout the countryside, with the Southern plains being offered $190 and dressed bids being offered in Nebraska at $297 -- but still no cattle have traded as feedlots want more money. As I mentioned earlier this week, I don't foresee feedlot managers letting cattle trade cheaper this week when they're current enough with their showlists to simply roll them over if they don't see the market prices in which they desire. Feedlot managers know that they hold the lion's share of the market's leverage and if they're to advance the market, now is the time to do so. Asking prices are noted in the South at $192 to $194 but are still not known for the North. Also not helping matters in terms of the board's lower ascend this morning was today's disappointing export sales report which showed another new marketing year low for beef sales. December live cattle are down $1.12 at $187.25, February live cattle are down $1.67 at $186.65 and April live cattle are down $1.62 at $188.87. Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.31 ($308.02) and select up $0.47 ($278.17) with a movement of 60 loads (35.47 loads of choice, 7.86 loads of select, 5.01 loads of trim and 11.56 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: With still no fed cash cattle trade having developed, it comes as no surprise that the feeder cattle market is again trailing lower as traders are desperate for some level of fundamental support outside of what feeder cattle buyers are doing in the countryside. January feeders are down $1.97 at $254.97, March feeders are down $2.05 at $253.57 and April feeders are down $1.95 at $254.75. Yes, the feeder cattle complex has been leading the cattle market's surge as of late, but at this point in time, the feeder cattle complex seems to have grown weary of trading any higher and needs more market reassurance before they can successfully pressure resistance levels again. LEAN HOGS: The lean hog market may have potentially found some technical footing with Wednesday's lower close as the market has successfully traded higher all throughout the day. December lean hogs are steady at $82.47, February lean hogs are up $0.20 at $86.52 and April lean hogs are up $0.37 at $91.37. Although it's not by much, at least seeing the midday pork cutout value higher is stress relieving as the market has seen consistent downward pressure as of late in terms of pork demand. The projected lean hog index for 12/4/2024 is down $0.15 at $83.93, and the actual index for 12/3/2024 is up $0.01 at $84.07. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 1,710 head have traded and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $87.00. Pork cutouts total 146.54 loads with 132.53 loads of pork cuts and 14.01 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.04, $89.64. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.