DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 06/23 06:32

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 06/23 06:32 Higher Prices for Cash Cattle Livestock futures finally closed higher in all categories Tuesday. Cattle were spurred higher due to the higher cash prices in the country. Hogs bounced technically but were supported by higher cash. A record one-day decline of pork cutout price over the past nine years does not bode well for the market. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Higher Futures: Higher Live Equiv: $227.99 -$3.06* Hogs: Steady Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $114.53 -$12.93** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue. (The Live Cattle Equiv. Index has been updated to depict recent changes in live cattle weights and grading percentages.) ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: The cattle complex received a shot in the arm Tuesday due to lower grain futures and higher cash bids. There were some early sales about $1.00 higher in Texas, followed by some cattle trading $3.00 to $4.00 higher in Kansas. Cattle trading $1.00 higher was no real surprise, but bids and trades higher than that were. This was interesting considering July 4 is just 1 1/2 weeks away, a time of year after which beef demand seasonally decreases. However, current demand for beef remains strong and may not follow seasonality. Feedlots may be in a better position to negotiate higher prices with average weights indicating they are more current with supply. This is a change that has not been seen for a while. Boxed beef continued to plummet with choice cuts down $5.45 and select cuts down $1.71. The May Cold Storage report showed beef inventory decreased 8% from April and was 1% below May 2020. The Commitment of Traders report, that had been delayed one day, showed funds as net buyers of 10,633 futures contracts increasing their total net long positions to 63,573 contracts.