DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/25 11:40

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/25 11:40 Hesitant Tones Drift Through the Livestock Sector Cautious tones trek through the livestock complex as traders need to see strong fundamental support before they'll push any of the contracts higher. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: The livestock complex is trading cautiously into Tuesday's afternoon as traders are looking for strong fundamental backing before they'll push the cattle or hog contracts any higher. Unfortunately, with the corn complex trading higher it's unlikely that the feeder cattle market will trade higher at all today. December corn is up 4 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $7.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 267.45 points. LIVE CATTLE: With the live cattle market rallying to new contract highs Monday, come Tuesday, the live cattle market has grown cold and somewhat leery of trading any higher as traders need to see more fundamental support before pushing the contracts any higher. December live cattle are down $0.77 at $153.35, February live cattle are down $0.22 at $156.75 and April live cattle are down $0.20 at $159.22. It's not that the market is second guessing its move, but rather instead that the market is longing for additional support before it advances higher yet again. Boxed beef prices and throughput have been exceptional this week, and cash cattle prices are expected to trade higher again. Asking prices in the South are noted at $151 to $152 and are still unestablished in the North. Cattle aren't expected to trade until Thursday or later. Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $3.95 ($261.87) and select up $1.79 ($227.40) with a movement of 52 loads (25.12 loads of choice, 12.16 loads of select, 4.88 loads of trim and 10.09 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: The feeder cattle market is trading mostly lower as the market has slowed its aggressive pace with the live cattle complex now trading lower and with nearby corn contracts pushing a modest $0.03 to $0.04 rally into the noon hour. November feeders are down $0.37 at $178.77, January feeders are down $1.22 at $180.72 and March feeders are down $1.42 at $182.40. It's likely that, even if the live cattle market begins to trade higher Tuesday afternoon, feeders will continue to trade in a cautious manner as the market has to balance the onset of higher corn prices and doesn't have as much upside potential currently. LEAN HOGS: The lean hog complex is trading mixed into Tuesday's afternoon as the spot and nearby contracts need to see more fundamental support before they'll keep with their upward climb. December lean hogs are up $0.17 at $88.10, February lean hogs are steady at $90.42 and April lean hogs are down $0.12 at $93.77. If the market can see a big movement in the cash sector and see good demand in the market's afternoon pork cutout values, then the market may stand a chance at trading sideways to somewhat higher on Wednesday. The projected lean hog index for Oct. 24 is up $0.14 at $94.81 and the actual index for Oct. 21 is up $0.62 at $94.67. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $4.20 with a weighted average of $90.08, ranging from $85.00 to $100.00 on 5,736 head and a five-day rolling average of $92.38. Pork cutouts total 234.11 loads with 210.16 loads of pork cuts and 23.96 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $2.84, $99.09. ShayLe Stewart can be reached [email protected] ** Cattlemen are eager for supply and demand mechanics to swing their way, but the market isn't completely free of hurdles as bearish concerns about the U.S. and global economies loom. Hear DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart's thoughts on the 2023 cattle market at the all-virtual DTN Ag Summit on Dec. 12-13. Full details available at http://www.dtn.com/agsummit (c) Copyright 2022 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.