DTN Midday Livestock Comments 04/25 15:03

Cattle Shake HPAI News, Trade Higher Again

No new cash cattle sales have been reported, but packer interest should
improve throughout the afternoon.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Following Wednesday's descent, the live cattle complex is back to trading
higher as traders are encouraged by the Southern Plain's steady cash cattle
trade. With more HPAI news surfacing and the futures market electing to react
negatively to the virus, cattlemen are more focused on the market's
fundamentals given that the virus isn't posing significant illness to infected
cattle and the CDC continues to say there is little risk to humans.

Traders are mildly supporting the contracts again this morning even though
the market is back to trading below its 100-day moving average. June live
cattle are up $0.65 at $175.90, August live cattle are up $0.87 at $174.25 and
October live cattle are up $0.47 at $178.12. There were a few cattle that
traded Wednesday afternoon in the South at $182 which is fully steady with the
previous week's trade. Currently, bids of $182 to $183 live and $290 dressed
are being offered in Nebraska, but no cattle have sold in that region yet. For
the cattle left on showlists, asking prices in the South are firm at $184-plus
and Northern feedlots are asking $295. Packer interest is expected to improve
throughout the day.

Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.68 ($297.42) and select down $0.42
($290.00) with a movement of 57 loads (35.93 loads of choice, 8.94 loads of
select, zero loads of trim and 12 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex is back to trading higher as traders shake the
news regarding the HPAI virus that was spread again on Wednesday and opt to
refocus on the support that feeder cattle sales have been seeing in the
countryside.

May feeders are up $0.50 at $244.60, August feeders are up $0.02 at $256.32
and September feeders are up $0.17 at $257.67. With turn-out season quickly
approaching, continuing to watch these feeder cattle sales in the countryside
will be insightful as everyone is curious about what the big summertime video
sales are going to accomplish.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex is trading notably lower into Thursday's noon hour as
traders seemed discouraged by the day's export report even though 28,800 metric
tons were sold. Early this year export sales were at times twice that much,
which is partly why traders have grown accustomed to seeing bigger sales. On
the bright side, at least midday pork cutout values are higher.

June lean hogs are down $2.70 at $104.75, July lean hogs are down $2.30 at
$107.55 and August lean hogs are down $1.67 at $105.47.

The projected lean hog index for April 24 is down $0.22 at $91.43 and the
actual index for April 23 is up $0.19 at $91.64. Hog prices are lower on the
Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $2.45 with a weighted average price of
$88.85, ranging from $84.45 to $93 with a movement of 1,180 head and a five-day
rolling average of $90.16. Pork cutouts total 144.40 loads with 120.13 loads of
pork cuts and 24.26 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.35, $97.62.

ShayLe Stewart can be reached at ShayLe.Stewart@dtn.com








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