DTN Closing Livestock Comments

Closing Comments

Besides a few isolated dressed deals in parts of the North, the cash cattle trade was very quiet, following active trade volume generated at midweek. According to the closing report, the national hog base is .55 lower ($61.00 to $69.00, weighted average $67.32). The corn market closed generally a nickel lower, pressured by larger-than-expected estimates of South American production and total world stocks. The stock market settled near unchanged with the Dow up 2 points and the Nasdaq positive by 1 point.

LIVE CATTLE

Live futures closed 17 to 52 higher with the front-end crawling a little faster than the back-end. Contracts were cautiously supported by short covering and generally constructive fundamentals. Yet the board continued to churn within a well-established range with final settlement suggesting no real change in price direction. Beef cut-outs were sharply higher, up $1.71 (select, $209.00) to $1.95 (choice, $215.56) with moderate-to-good demand and light-to-moderate offerings

(57 loads of choice cuts, 22 loads of select cuts, 2 loads of trimmings, and 24 loads of coarse grinds).

FRIDAY'S CASH CATTLE CALL:

Steady/firm with Wednesday's business. While scattered clean-up is possible here and there on Friday, most cash action is done for the week. Unsold steers and heifers still on show lists are priced around $128 in the South and $204-plus in the North.

FEEDER CATTLE

Feeders surged forward with triple-digit gains (i.e., settlements ranged 100 to 185 higher). Besides the strength of feedlot cash and firming live futures, feeder issues were supported by the weakening corn market and the premium of the cash index. Spot March managed to close above its 40-moving average for the first time since Jan. 27 (closing the bearish charts in the process). CME cash feeder index for 03/08: 127.00, up .05.

LEAN HOGS

Lean contracts closed 5 to 40 points lower at the conclusion of a lackluster trading session. Apparently stuck in neutral, this market seems to beg the proverbial glass-half-full/glass-half-empty question. The good news is that board prices have certainly stabilized over the last three weeks or so. Carcass value closed moderately higher, thanks to strong demand for fresh cuts overshadowing softer belly and rib sales. Pork cut-out: $81.75, up .69. CME cash lean index for 03/07: 72.60, off .09 (DTN Projected lean index for 03/08: 72.59, off .01).

FRIDAY'S CASH HOG CALL

Steady to $1 lower. Look for late-week cash bids to be steady to $1 lower. It would appear that packers have short-term kill needs pretty well covered.

(ES)

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