DTN Midday Livestock Comments

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The cash cattle trade is quite limited near midday with just a handful of dressed sales reported in parts of the north (i.e., $203-204 on better grading steers and heifers). Thanks to decent movement in most area on Wednesday, the lion's share of cash trading may be done for the week. According to the midday report, the national hog base is 0.88 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($61.00-69.00, weighted average $66.99). Corn futures are 3-4 cents lower as of this writing, pressured by friendly South American weather conducive for double-crop planting and larger than expected world stockpiles. The stock market is mixed in late morning choppiness. The Dow is 2 points lower with the Nasdaq up 3.

LIVE CATTLE:

Live cattle contracts are moderately higher in late morning biz, somewhat supported by impressive evident of stable packer demand for live inventory. Yet if bulls can't tap into any more heat between now and the close, it looks like we're headed toward another technically insignificant close. Beef cut-outs are higher at midday, up 0.82 (choice, $214.43) to $1.15 (select, $208.44) with light box movement (28 loads of choice cuts, 8 loads of select cuts, 2 loads of trimmings, 21 loads of coarse grinds).

FEEDER CATTLE:

Feeder traders appear to be doing decent work sustaining a decent rally through the session. Contracts opened on a firm basis and continue to sport gains of 82 to 147 points near midday. Besides firming action in the live market, feeder buying may be encouraged by both lower corn prices and the premium status of the cash index.

LEAN HOGS:

Lean issues are narrowly mixed near the top of the noon hour with prices ranging from 5 points higher to 32 lower. There's just not much sense of price direction here with the jury temporarily hung over the question of whether the April discount to cash is too much or not enough. The carcass value is rebounding at midday with all primals helping the cause except the rib and ham. Pork cut-out: $81.87, up .81. CME cash lean index for 03/07: 72.60, off 0.09 (DTN Projected lean index for 03/08: 72.59, off 0.01).

John A. Harrington can be reached at john.harrington@dtn.com

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