DTN Midday Livestock Comments 01/11 11:36

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 01/11 11:36 Weaker Tones Hobble the Livestock Complex Heading into Wednesday afternoon the cattle complex will be closely watching corn prices as a slight reduction in corn could allow feeders to trend slightly higher. ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Weaker tones have encompassed the livestock complex as the day nears noon. From the cattle market's perspective higher corn prices have shut feeders down from trading higher, and in terms of the live cattle market all are waiting to see what this week's cash market accomplishes. March corn is up 2 1/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $5.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 120.58 points. LIVE CATTLE: The live cattle complex seems to be merely on hold until traders and cattlemen alike can see what this week's cash cattle market is going to do. The consensus throughout the marketplace is that cash cattle will indeed trade higher -- but the real question remains: How many cattle will trade? And by how much higher will they trade? Some bids are being offered in Nebraska at $157 live and $251 dressed, but it's not likely that those weak offerings will get cattle bought. Southern feedlots have their cattle priced at $158 to $159, and asking prices are still unknown in the North. It's not likely that trade will develop until Thursday or later as feedlots want to push the cash market higher. February live cattle are steady at $157.75, April live cattle are down $0.10 at $161.55 and June live cattle are down $0.02 at $157.47. Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $1.17 ($283.36) and select up $0.18 ($258.51) with a movement of 71 loads (36.92 loads of choice, 13.18 loads of select, 7.40 loads of trim and 13.61 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE: The feeder cattle complex is trading lower into Wednesday afternoon as the market carefully notes the slightly higher trend in corn prices and simultaneously notices the lower tone in the live cattle complex. January feeders are down $0.75 at $183.55, March feeders are down $0.67 at $185.82 and April feeders are down $0.72 at $189.80. The feeder cattle market isn't backing off its upward trend, but rather instead is holding sideways as the market waits to see what will happen in this week's cash cattle market. Demand has been tremendous throughout the countryside as while feed prices may be high, buyers also know that the closer the market gets to green grass and springtime, the higher feeders will also become. LEAN HOGS: Support levels weren't able to keep the lean hog market above $80.00 in the spot February contract as the market continues to face immense pressure. With both pork cutout values lower and cash prices down slightly, the fundamental outlook for the lean hog market continues to be a bleak one. Tomorrow the market will see the newest WASDE report released which could give the market a better gauge on demand both here domestically and internationally. But until something solidifies fundamentally (stronger pork cutout values and/or a better cash market) the lean hog complex will likely continue to trade in this doggish manner. February lean hogs are down $0.55 at $79.25, April lean hogs are down $1.15 at $88.37 and June lean hogs are down $1.00 at $104.30. The projected lean hog index for 1/10/2023 is down $0.48 at $75.96, and the actual index for 1/9/2023 is down $0.35 at $76.44. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.24 with a weighted average of $71.99, ranging from $67.00 to $75.00 on 4,223 head and a five-day rolling average of $73.48. Pork cutouts total 236.71 loads with 206.34 loads of pork cuts and 30.36 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.25, $81.48. ShayLe Stewart can be reached [email protected] (c) Copyright 2023 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.