DTN Midday Livestock Comments 12/01 12:05

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 12/01 12:05 Cattle Contracts Finding Support Through Tuesday's Trade The lean hog market was hoping to trade higher yet again following Monday's support but as Tuesday got closer and closer to the noon hour the lean hog market's support faded. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst General Comments As Tuesday nears the noon hour the cattle contracts are trading higher while the support that was helping move the lean hog market higher earlier in the day has quickly dwindled. The cash cattle market is still quiet with bids yet to surface. March corn is down 2 cents per bushel and January soybean meal is up $0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 261.04 points and NASDAQ is up 173.74 points. LIVE CATTLE Feedlots are thankful to see minor support building in the live cattle market following Monday's disappointing trade. Feedlots have full intentions to move this week's cash cattle market higher again but doing so is always easier when the board helps support the movement. Bids have yet to hit the table this week but asking prices of $112 to $113 have been noted in the South while asking prices in the North are still unknown. December live cattle are up $0.12 at $110.30, February live cattle are down $0.12 at $112.75 and April live cattle are up $0.10 at $116.50. There may be some cash cattle development starting Wednesday after the online sale, but the marketplace is expected to sit quietly until then. Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.34 ($243.34) and select up $1.69 ($224.12) with a movement of 67 loads (44.59 loads of choice, 6.78 loads of select, 7.68 loads of trim and 7.68 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE The feeder cattle contracts have been bound and determined early this week to trade higher and with the corn market's slight regression, so long as trader interest continues to be present, the market should be able to close higher again Tuesday afternoon. As the nearby contracts dance above the $140 to $141 threshold, the contracts may start to feel some pressure and will have to decide how much more upward momentum the short-term market has. January feeders are up $0.77 at $141.82, March feeders are up $0.90 at $140.87 and April feeders are up $1.00 at $142.07. LEAN HOGS The lean hog market was trading confidently Tuesday morning but as the noon hour approaches the market has shifted to trading lower in nearby contracts while still trading somewhat higher in the deferred contract. Without follow-through support in the pork cutout value, the market fells unsupported and trades cautiously. December lean hogs are down $0.67 at $66.87, February lean hogs are down $0.35 at $68.22 and April lean hogs are down $0.45 at $70.90. The projected lean hog for 11/30/2020 is down $0.14 with a weighted average of $66.67 and the actual index for 11/27/2020 is down $0.34 at $66.81. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.39 with a weighted average of $56.28, ranging from $48.00 to $57.00 on 6,944 head and a five-day rolling average of $56.64. Pork cutouts total 267.24 loads with 230.35 loads of pork cuts and 36.89 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $2.35, $77.74. ShayLe Stewart can be reached [email protected] ** Editor's Note: See DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart's complete 2021 market outlook live by attending the DTN Ag Summit, Dec. 7-9. This year's event is virtual, and as a DTN subscriber you can attend for FREE. Our premier farmer and rancher event features markets updates from ShayLe, DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman and a weather outlook by Senior Ag Meteorologist Bryce Anderson. Other speakers include: U.S. Ambassador Kip Tom; Ken Eriksen and Paul Hughes of IHS Markit; Microsoft Chief Scientist Ranveer Chandra; personal development speakers David Horsager and Jon Gordon; farmers Reid and Heather Thompson; farm blogger Meredith Bernard, and many more. You can take part, and ask live questions, all from the comfort of your home, shop or tractor cab. Register at https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dtn.com%2Fa gsummit&data=04%7C01%7Cscott.kemper%40dtn.com%7Cac6bbb50e0fb4f3d7a1b08d88699dc5f %7Cd945da26f07f451496e79b8f78a743d0%7C0%7C0%7C637407342673172926%7CUnknown%7CTWF pbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C10 00&sdata=GNA2Ki89YXFtCVRYBszt7rkt9kURe5CGBuNLsNeKGrs%3D&reserved=0 and enter code DTNVIP20 to get free access (a $99 value). (c) Copyright 2020 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.