DTN Midday Livestock Comments          06/05 13:29

   Cattle Tumble Lower While Lean Hogs Rally

   Thus far the day has been a mixed bag for the livestock sector; cattle 
contracts are struggling while the lean hog market rallies.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

   General Comments

   Friday is shaping up to be a strong day for the lean hog market as contracts 
rally well over $1.00 but the cattle contracts unfortunately can't say the 
same. Both live cattle and feeder cattle contracts fight pressure in nearby 
contracts as uncertainty continues to plague the industry. July corn is up 2 
cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $0.80. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average is up 876.30 points and NASDAQ is up 204.73 points.

   LIVE CATTLE

   Live cattle contracts are trading substantially lower as Friday nears the 
noon hour. Thursday afternoon cash cattle traded as low at $105 which hasn't 
helped the market's morale which is now engulfing Friday's trade. June live 
cattle are down $1.50 at $94.22, August live cattle are down $1.37 at $96.55 
and October live cattle are down $1.10 at $99.77. The cash cattle market sits 
very, very quiet as bids and asking prices are obsolete. Seeing that trade has 
transpired all through out the week and then weakened come Thursday, business 
could be done for the week.

   Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $6.42 ($265.84) and select down 
$5.98 ($254.43) with a movement of 59 loads (43.80 loads of choice, 7.36 loads 
of select, zero loads of trim and 7.45 loads of ground beef).  

   FEEDER CATTLE

   Feeder cattle contracts are feeling vulnerable to the live cattle market's 
weakness and the limited number of traders invested into the market isn't 
helping either. August feeders are down $0.95 at $133.77, September feeders are 
down $1.07 at $135.42 and October feeders are down $0.97 at $136.30. Heading 
into June and nearing the official summer season has welcomed warmer weather, 
which is bothersome to a lot of cattlemen as some pastures are already looking 
dry.

   LEAN HOGS

   The cattle contracts may be sliding backwards instead of rallying into the 
later part of the week but the lean hog contracts trade optimistically instead. 
The spot June contract is fighting a little pressure but for the most part the 
industry is rallying well over $1.00. June lean hogs are down $0.12 at $48.30, 
July lean hogs are up $1.12 at $54.70 and August lean hogs are up $1.75 at 
$57.50.

   The projected lean hog index for 6/3/2020 is down $1.68 at $55.38 and the 
actual index for 6/2/2020 was down $2.17 at $57.06. Hog prices are lower on the 
National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.01 with a weighted average of 
$31.96, ranging from $28.00 to $34.00 on 4,221 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $33.93. Pork cutouts total 267.55 loads with 256.80 loads of pork 
cuts and 10.75 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.90, $77.75.

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




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