DTN Closing Livestock Comments

Livestock Futures End Week Mixed Amid Light Trade

Elaine Kub
By  Elaine Kub , Contributing Analyst
(DTN file photo)

GENERAL COMMENTS:

From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Feb LC, Off $1.42; Apr LC, Off $1.70; Mar FC, Off $3.88; May FC, Off $2.75; Feb LH, Up $3.42; Apr LH, Up $1.95. Dressed deals were noted this week at $190, and nothing developed Friday to alter that outlook. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.45 lower ($62.00-$69.25, weighted average $66.90). Corn futures settled 2 1/4 cents lower, with soybean meal and feed wheat contracts following that lower direction. The stock market ended the week on a higher note, but the S&P 500 still lingers below the record high set last week.

LIVE CATTLE

Continuing Thursday's recovery after a spastic week on the charts, most of the live cattle contracts ended the Friday session with mild gains. Trading volume was light overall, with only 16,000 contracts traded in the April contract. Beef cut-outs: lower, off $0.69 (select, $189.93) to $1.61 (choice, $191.40) with light-to-moderate demand (66 loads of choice cuts, 17 loads of select cuts, 5 loads of trimmings, and 28 loads of ground beef).

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MONDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL

Steady. Monday's activity will be limited to the collection of new showlists. We look for the offering to be about steady with showlists priced around $122.00 in the South and $192 to $194 in the North.

FEEDER CATTLE

The bearish outlook for feeder cattle inventory hit the futures charts hard this week, leaving a downside gap on the weekly chart, with the March contract closing at $123.575. This was the only livestock futures market that closed with consistent losses across the board at the end of Friday's session. CME cash feeder index: 02/02: $128.19, off $0.53.

LEAN HOGS

Lean hog futures closed Friday anywhere from 2 points lower to 67 points higher, leaving the two nearby contracts above 70 at the end of the week -- a continuation of the positive recovery that has been churning on the chart since October. Carcass value closed moderately higher, entirely led by yet another pop in the belly primal (i.e., up $4.75). Pork cut-out: $84.46, up $0.96. CME cash lean index for 02/01: $69.63, up $0.56 (DTN Projected lean index for 02/02: $70.30, up $0.67).

MONDAY'S CASH HOG CALL

Steady to $1 higher. Hog buyers are expected to resume work Monday with generally firm bids.

Elaine Kub can be reached at elaine@masteringthegrainmarkets.com

(AG)

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Elaine Kub