DTN Midday Livestock Comments          01/15 11:44

   Traders Continue to Push Livestock Contracts Higher

   Asking prices have been noted in the South at $202 to $205, but are still 
not established for the North.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Both the live cattle and feeder cattle contracts are again trading higher 
into today's noon hour as the market remains confident in the strong 
fundamental support. Some light trade has been noted in Kansas at $201 which is 
mostly steady with last week's weighted average. March corn is up 3 1/2 cents 
per bushel and March soybean meal is down $3.00. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average is up 641.84 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   It's another strong day for the live cattle complex as traders continue to 
advance the complex with the belief that market fundamentals will remain strong 
through the week's end. There's been a little movement in Kansas where a 
handful of live cattle traded for $201 which is mostly steady with last week's 
weighted average -- but given that only a small sampling has been sold at that 
price, I don't believe a trend has been established yet for the week. Asking 
prices have surfaced at $202 to $205 for the South but are still not 
established for the North. February live cattle are up $0.55 at $197.95, April 
live cattle are up $0.82 at $198.97 and June live cattle are up $0.80 at 
$193.00.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.43 ($334.41) and select down $1.45 
($317.26) with a movement of 76 loads (49.21 loads of choice, 17.13 loads of 
select, zero loads of trim and 9.76 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   Although the nearby corn contracts are trading slightly higher, the feeder 
cattle market continues to rally as traders feel well supported by the live 
cattle contracts trading higher and upon the continued support of incredible 
feeder cattle sales in the countryside. January feeders are up $0.25 at 
$274.35, March feeders are up $1.05 at $269.25 and April feeders are up $1.02 
at $269.57. The spot March contract is fearful of the resistance at $270, and 
unless something wild happens in the fed cash cattle market, it's unlikely that 
traders will tackle that threshold today.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog complex is continuing to grind higher as the market is 
thoroughly pleased with the uptick of demand that it's recently seen. February 
lean hogs are down $0.45 at $83.17, April lean hogs are up $0.62 at $91.12 and 
June lean hogs are up $0.42 at $103.97. The rib is again the biggest leading 
cut this morning with its $3.11 gain, but the ham is also up $2.29 helping push 
the carcass price higher.

   The projected lean hog index for 1/14/2025 is up $0.11 at $81.10, and the 
actual lean hog index for 1/13/2025 is up $0.23 at $80.99. Hog prices are 
unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of packer submission 
issues. Pork cutouts total 195.97 loads with 159.27 loads of pork cuts and 
36.69 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.91, $91.12.

   ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com




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