Author: ploewen

Double digit higher bean close yesterday, a quiet finish in corn and wheat was sharply lower. Funds were only moderately active sellers in wheat, yet some of the Chicago contracts were pushing up against 30 lower at the finish. Estimates had funds net sellers of 4500 wheat and on the buy side of 1k corn and 3k beans. Russia’s SovEcon raised their wheat production estimate up to 99 mmt’s and also bumped wheat exports up to 47.5 mmt’s. Part of the weakness came from that news. Ukraine’s Ag Ministry also released production forecasts yesterday, citing total grain at 50-52 mmt’s, which was unchanged from their last forecast. Last year’s crop was 86 mmt’s. They also pegged the September export forecast at 5.4-5.5 mmt’s. The August…

Date: September 19th, 2022 Somewhat of a quiet trade to end last week for all livestock futures. Fats near steady for the week as feeders were under selling pressure early from higher grains and then tanking equites as inflation is still high. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade last week was steady to $1 higher, the most supportive fundamental factor for live cattle futures. Trade in the South done mostly at $142 live and trade in the North at $143 live and $225 up to $230 dressed. For the week, Friday September 9th through Friday September 16th, October Live Cattle -$.17, December unchanged, September Feeder Cattle -$3.80, October -$4.32, October Lean Hogs +$3.72, December +$4.85. Boxed Beef, Choice -$4.86 @ $252.40, Select -$8.08 @ $226.65, Pork…

Date: September 14th, 2022 Livestock futures a very mixed bag on Tuesday with feeders the leader lower and hogs the leader higher, both in triple digit fashion. Corn held steady to lower on Tuesday, so one would have thought cattle futures would be able to hold steady as well. That was certainly not the case as inflation continues to soar with last month’s consumer prices higher than expected. This pushed equities sharply lower and the US$ sharply higher which pressured an already shaky feeder cattle market. The fact that nearby corn is back up near the $7 mark and basis continues to strengthen in the majority of cattle feeding country during harvest is still the overall pressure point. Only light volume cash fed cattle trade…

September 9, 2022 Livestock futures finished last week with strong gains, mostly triple digits higher. Fundamental support is lacking though for cattle futures with cash trade steady to $2 lower and beef prices lower. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade in the South mostly at $141 live and in the North from $142 to $144 live and $226 to $228 dressed. For the week, Friday September 2nd through Friday September 9th, October Live Cattle +$1.12, December +$.72, September Feeder Cattle -$.87, October +$.62, October Lean Hogs +$3.15, December +$.42. Boxed Beef, Choice -$2.16, Select -$3.85. Pork Carcass Cutout +$.62. Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary Livestock Weighted Average Report for 9/4/22-9/10/22 Current Week: 19,599 Last Report 8/29/22: 35,585 Last Year: 15,143 Compared to last week: All classes…

Much quieter day yesterday in the cattle complex futures and for most contract months the primary direction was up, not down like the previous day. Feeders settled mildly higher in everything. Live cattle were mildly lower in Dec and Feb and mildly higher everywhere else. Negotiated cash feedlot trade finally picked up some steam after being at a stalemate through midweek. The south traded mostly steady with last week’s prices in the $141 area. Nebraska was a couple dollars weaker in the dressed trade with the bottom end of it being $2 lower than last week. I’m not sure where the weighted average will land, because that’s going to depend on whether there’s more numbers traded today. Choice beef was briefly back up over $260…

Date: September 7th, 2022 Cattle futures continued their technical bounce higher as hogs touched new recent lows but then finished with a decent rally as well. Here’s hoping that the fundamental side will back up the rally for cattle with higher cash trade this week? Trade has been steady to lower the past couple weeks and volume lighter heading into the Labor Day break. Early asking prices in the South have picked up to $144 live as feedlots and packers alike know slaughter ready supply will be tighter later this fall. Feeders even held gains with corn a dime higher yesterday and the most active October contract held triple digit gains. Ozarks Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle - West Plains, MO Livestock Weighted Average Report for…

Date: September 6th, 2022 Livestock futures finished last week mixed as cattle futures held gains which secured week over week gains but lean hogs finished triple digits lower which led to losses week over week. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade last week was steady to $2 lower with live trade in the South from $140 to $141. Trade in the North also lower and closing the premium gap with the South at $143 to $145 live and dressed trade from $228 to $232. For the week, Friday August 26th through Friday September 2nd, October Live Cattle +$1.50, December +$1.15, September Feeder Cattle +$1.67, October +$1.55, October Lean Hogs -$.62, December -$.25. Boxed Beef, Choice -$3.34 @ $259.42, Select -$.18 @ $238.58, Pork Carcass Cutout +$.02…

Date: August 24th, 2022 Livestock futures looking for better direction this week as Monday saw little movement with bearish outside markets. On Tuesday, live cattle futures held small gains but most of the feeder contracts finished around $2 lower as all grains raced higher. Some light cash fed cattle trade developed in TX at $142 live, fully steady compared to a week ago along with light volume in the North at $149 live and $234 dressed, also steady with last week. Lean hogs tried to rally early but fell under heavy selling pressure and finished triple digits lower as pork prices collapsed yet cash still held steady. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 8/22/2022 – Final This…

Date: August 22nd, 2022 Livestock futures finished mixed and Friday and higher week over week for cattle futures while lean hogs were sharply lower. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade last week was steady to $8 higher. TX and KS trade reported steady to $2 higher from $140 to $142 live while live trade in the North was steady to $3 higher from $145 to $150 and dressed trade $4 to $8 higher from $234 to $238. After the close, USDA released a bearish cattle on feed report with placements 2% higher than a year ago compared to the market expecting a 1-2% lower number. On feed and marketings were both in line with expectations at 101% and 96% respectively compared to a year earlier. Cattle…

Date: August 17th, 2022 Cattle futures held triple digits higher as grains fell off for the second day in a row and have already taking out most of last week’s gains. It was easy to define the support for all cattle futures as equites were higher and beef prices higher as well. A few deferred feeder contracts even hit new contract highs. Cattle on Feed report coming this Friday after the close with the markets expecting the same on feed total as a year ago with 1 to 2% lower placements but also lower marketings. Light volume cash fed cattle trade so far this week in the North at $146 live, steady with last week. Asking prices in the South now jumping from $142 on…