DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/02 12:01

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/02 12:01 Cattle Contracts Circling Back Compared to the earlier portion of the week, roles have reversed as cattle contracts rally support while lean hog and corn contracts weaken. By ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst General Comments It would be fair to call the day, "Flip-Flop Wednesday," as cattle contracts have flipped to a green market while corn and lean hog contract have flopped to a weakening board. December corn is down 6 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $3.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 518.72 points and NASDAQ is down 142.03 points. LIVE CATTLE All aspects of the cattle market have taken Wednesday by storm and rallied stronger prices. December live cattle opened at $109.90 and have since climbed to $110.52. All contracts both nearby and deferred have latched onto the same energy and post gains of anywhere from $0.20 to $1.30. Cash cattle markets are starting to show interest as bids of $107 have been set in Nebraska and bids of $105 in Texas. Asking prices still remain firm at $108 in the South and $175-plus in the North. It is unlikely that trade will really take off today as packers will be weary of higher prices again this week. The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction had 846 head of cattle listed this morning with lots in Nebraska, Texas and Kansas. Asking prices were mostly $106 to $107 with one lot in Nebraska asking $111. There were no takers today. Midday boxed beef cutouts are higher: choice up $0.06 ($213.53) and select up $0.31 ($186.36). Wednesday's offering of boxed beef movement totaled 96 loads (39.69 loads of choice cuts, 30.12 loads of select cuts, 13.09 loads of trim and 13.53 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE Feeder cattle opened Wednesday with the same undesirable attitude seen earlier in the week but have since turned around and all nearby and deferred markets are seeing green figures bounce around as the midday hour arrives. November feeder cattle opened at $140.10 and have now etched to $141.37. Support could be rallied from several different angles: a lower corn contract, stronger boxed beef prices, momentum from the live cattle contracts and an expected stronger cash market. LEAN HOGS Nearby and deferred lean hog contracts are all lower as the noon hour approaches. December lean hogs carry the most cumulative volume and opened Wednesday at $70.27 and have since then fell to $68.10. South Korea announced their 10th and 11th cases of African swine fever Wednesday, which is having a bit of a bearish pull on the market. One would expect for disease outbreak to spur a bullish undertaking in American markets, but with uncinched trade agreements there's a lot up in the air for the lean hog markets. The projected lean hog index for 10/01/19 up $0.78 at $57.83, and actual lean hog index for 9/30/19 came to $57.05 up $0.60. Prices are down on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.38 with a weighted average of $49.09, ranging from $44.00 to $51.00 on 5,655 head sold with a five-day rolling average of $48.92. Pork cutouts totaled 185.28 loads with 160.99 loads of pork cuts and 24.29 loads of trim. Pork cutout values came in lower, down $0.89 at $74.40. ShayLe Stewart can be reached [email protected] (BE) Copyright 2019 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.