DTN Midday Livestock Comments          10/16 12:06

   Stronger Cattle Markets, Weakening Hog Complex 

   The livestock complex is split with cattle contracts gaining support and 
lean hog contracts trading lower and lower. 

By ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

General Comments

   Livestock markets are split this morning with lean hog contracts unable to 
keep most of Tuesday's rally, and cattle contracts finding midday support. 

   December corn is down 2 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is 
down $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1.18 points and NASDAQ is 
down 22.21 points. 

   LIVE CATTLE 

   Cattle contracts have shaken the Tuesday blues and are eager to capture 
gains now. At the earliest, sometime Wednesday cash cattle bids start to 
surface, and the board is performing very well in both live cattle and feeder 
cattle contracts. If the board can close with the same energy it possesses, 
good things may be in store for cash cattle trade again this week. Live cattle 
contracts are raining $0.12 to $0.77 higher on all contracts except February 
and April 2020, which are both down 7 cents. December live cattle are up $0.10 
at $113.55. 

   The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction today had a total of 768 head listed with 
three lots for Kansas and one lot each for Texas and Nebraska. Asking prices 
were at $111, but there were no takers again this week. Bids are still scarce 
in the countryside with just one bid of $172 being placed in Nebraska. Packers 
may wait to see how the board closes today before they get stuck paying 
prematurely higher prices this week. 

   Midday boxed beef prices are up: choice up $0.98 ($219.00) and select up 
$0.88 ($192.36). Wednesday's offering of boxed beef movement presents 97 loads 
total (42.98 loads of choice cuts, 18.57 loads of select cuts, 12.87 lots of 
trim and 22.55 loads of ground beef). 

   FEEDER CATTLE 

   October feeder cattle are up $0.50 at $145.50 and November feeder cattle are 
down $0.10 at $145.97. Feeder cattle markets opened steady with Tuesday's close 
but have since rallied support and are projecting gains of $0.27 to $0.42 in 
deferred contracts. Bouncing largely off the energy in the live cattle market, 
feeder cattle contracts are performing well, better than expected near the noon 
hour. 

   LEAN HOGS 

   Unable to keep most of Tuesday's gains, the lean hog market is retracking. 
With uncertainly still looming around the Phase One trade deal and lower cutout 
values, it would be hard to rally much of a gain unless something were to turn 
around after the noon hour on Wednesday. December lean hogs are down $2.40 at 
$69.72, with most of the board ranging $0.12 to $2.45 lower. May 2020 is the 
only contract securing gains: up $0.15. 

   The projected lean hog index for 10/15/19 is up $1.02 at $63.94, and the 
actual lean hog index for 10/14/19 came to $62.92 up $0.81. Prices are down on 
the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.17 with a weighted average of 
$58.05, ranging from $54.00 to $61.00 on 7,572 head sold and a five-day rolling 
average of $57.16. Pork cutouts totaled 203.97 loads with 180.36 loads of pork 
cuts and 23.61 loads of trim. Pork cutout values are down $1.05 at $77.01. 

   ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com 


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