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Date: January 8, 2024 Livestock futures mixed to finish out the week but early week strong gains in cattle futures helped to push both fats and feeders higher week over week. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade as of mid-afternoon Friday was very light in TX and KS and $172 live, steady to $1 lower than the week previous. Northern trade was reported throughout the week at better volume from $173 to $175 live and $274 to $278 dressed, all steady to $2 higher than the week previous. Weekly closes for livestock futures and meats…February Live Cattle +$2.07, April +$1.15, January Feeder Cattle +$.82, March +$1.05, February Lean Hogs +$2.02, April +$1.52. Choice Boxed Beef -$12.55 at $277.16 and Pork Carcass Cutout -$.56 at $84.20. No…

Date: December 27, 2023 Selling pressure only lasted for a few hours for cattle futures while lean hogs held losses into the close on Tuesday. The bearish cattle on feed report kicked feeders triple digits lower at the open but that was quickly tossed aside as trading volume was light and support from higher cash fed cattle trade last week won out. December live cattle will expire at the end of the week and converged with cash last week at $170. I would expect we try to hold steady this week as well but no bids or offers have been reported yet. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY - WEEK ENDING 12/23/2023 RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total This Week: 103,100 36,300 1,300 140,700 Last Week:…

Date: December 26, 2023 Livestock futures mixed to finish out the week with cattle futures holding gains week over week and lean hogs lower. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade as of mid-afternoon Friday reported $1 to $3 higher than the week previous from $170 to $171 live and $270 to $271 dressed. Slightly bearish Cattle on Feed report from USDA after the close on Friday. Cattle and calves on feed totaled 12.0 million head on December 1, 2023, up 3% from a year ago and 1% over expectations. Placements in feedlots during November totaled 1.87 million head, 2% below last year but 2% higher than expectations. This is the fourth consecutive month with higher placements than expected. Marketings of fed cattle during November totaled 1.75…

Date: December 20, 2023 Very little follow through buying on Tuesday after new recent highs on Monday across the livestock futures. Cattle traders are a bit nervous heading into the holiday trading season especially with the December Cattle on Feed report coming this Friday after the close and then a 3-day weekend. Most are calling for a higher on feed, 1-2% higher vs. a year ago but lower placements, 2-5% lower than last year. Only very light volume cash fed cattle trade reported so far this week in the North at $169 live which is at the top end of last week’s range. The Quarterly Hog and Pigs report is also coming this Friday afternoon with the average trade estimate for all hogs as of…

Date: December 13, 2023 Cattle futures continued higher on Tuesday as lean hogs finished mixed. This is the third consecutive higher close for both fats and feeders, yet I would still be reluctant to call the bottom in just yet. Charts are looking a little better and bottoms are typically rounded unlike highs which typically are spikes. Both fats and feeders still need to add another $4 to $5 and break nearby resistance levels to get me excited on a new rally beginning. Deferred contracts led the way higher yesterday. Fundamentals sure didn’t call for this 4-month sharp price drop and overall it’s too early to see much inventory building just yet. Only very light volume cash fed cattle reported so far this week in…

Date: December 11, 2023 Livestock futures opened Friday morning steady to $1 higher. Fats and feeders tested support levels but directly after the December USDA S&D reports, grains flashed lower and buying interest began for both cattle and lean hog futures. The buying momentum held into the close with fats finishing $2 to $3+ higher, feeders $4 to $5 higher and lean hogs $.80 to $1.50 higher. This was the first higher week over week close for the nearby feeder contract in over a month and only the third higher weekly close since mid-September. Now the charts/technicals are not fixed yet, but hopefully this late week rally can spill into buying enthusiasm early this week. The report did not have many major changes for the…

Date: December 8, 2023 In the cattle complex, we started the day higher in a lot of contract months, rallied decently and then the sell pressure hit, taking some of the deferred feeders down more than $2 and a few live cattle contracts down over $1. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade this week in the Southern Plains has been parked at $171 live, which is $8 to $9 above futures, meaning crazy positive basis. That’s a very good thing for hedgers, but the collapsing futures markets overall still a very bade thing for everyone else. Dressed trade in the North this week from $267 to $271, $3 to $5 lower than last week. Winter Livestock - Dodge City, KS Livestock Weighted Average Report for 12/6/2023…

Date: November 29, 2023 Gotta love when turnaround Tuesday works higher, at least for all livestock and grains except just a few months for corn. These markets are certainly not for faint of heart lately with the nearby January feeder cattle up the daily limit of $8.25 on Tuesday after losing over $14 the past two trading sessions. Daily trading limits for feeders today out the $12.25 which also pushes live cattle daily limits out to $10! Live cattle followed the feeders higher yesterday with gains of $2.87 to $4.20, but no limit higher moves. Even lean hogs held onto triple digit gains for the front 3 months. Only light volume cash fed cattle trade so far this week at $175 live, $2 lower than…

Date: November 28 The cattle complex took another big punch to the gut yesterday as Friday’s losses spilled over into Monday. Live cattle were actually mixed on either side of unchanged shortly after yesterday’s opening bell, but just couldn’t make anything happen at higher money. Feeders started with shallow losses that just continued to steepen to the tune of $6+ lower. No big news story to point the finger at other than some harsh technical selling and quite frankly some panicking going on. Chart technicals look just absolutely terrible in both fats and feeders but definitely worse in feeders with some new contract lows being made. The January contract has made new recent lows, and ugly ones at that, but they have not quite gotten…

Date: November 27, 2023 Massive fund liquidation and technical selling continued for livestock futures on the holiday shortened Friday trading session. Negotiated cash fed trade last week mostly at $177 live and $280 dressed, steady to $2 lower than the week previous, with the full ranges from $175 to $178 live and $278 to $288 dressed. New 8-month lows for most cattle contracts on Friday with new contract lows for feeders from April forward. Lean hogs sold off as well with February forward triple digits lower and new contract lows for a few contracts there as well. I was a bit surprised to see such a sell off with the winter weather that headed into the Southern Plains over the weekend. Weekly closes for livestock…