DTN Midday Livestock Comments          06/02 12:11

   Cattle Contracts Lower; Lean Hog Contracts Optimistic 

   Tuesday at midday cattle futures are feeling bearish and lean hog futures 
see an opportunity to rally. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

   GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Livestock futures have fought some immense resistance Tuesday morning, but 
as the day progressed lean hog contracts rallied while cattle contracts remain 
suppressed. July corn is up 3/4 cent per bushel and July soybean meal is up 
$0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 132.31 points and NASDAQ is down 
21.89 points.

   LIVE CATTLE:

   Live cattle futures are notably lower in nearby contracts and modestly lower 
in deferred. June live cattle are down $2.05 at $96.25, August live cattle are 
down $1.22 at $97.75 and October live cattle are down $0.72 at $100.65. A light 
round of cash cattle trade developed Tuesday morning in eastern Nebraska where 
a regional packer bought dressed cattle for $178 with delivery set for June 15. 
Asking prices are $118 to $120-plus in the South and $190-plus in the North. As 
trade is expected to trickle in throughout the week, it will be interesting to 
see if delivery dates on most of the cattle purchases are for later or if 
packers want the cattle now.

   Monday afternoon there was a light round of trade reported in Nebraska and 
Iowa. Dressed cattle sold for $178 to $187, mostly at $187, which is roughly 
steady to $3.00 lower than last week's weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $18.79 ($322.36) and select down 
$21.31 ($295.52) with a movement of 65 loads (34.19 loads of choice, 16.65 
loads of select, 11.40 loads of trim and 2.70 loads of ground beef).

   FEEDER CATTLE:

   Feeder cattle futures are lower Tuesday with greatest resistance in nearby 
contracts. August feeder cattle are down $1.77 at $134.35, September feeder 
cattle are down $1.27 at $135.92 and October feeder cattle are down $1.05 at 
$136.72. For cattle selling in the countryside, Tuesday's weakness shouldn't 
crater the recent momentum as the market has had a commendable rally over the 
last week and fat cattle are still selling within last week's price range.

   LEAN HOGS:

   Lean hog futures have been pressured over fears that China could stop 
purchasing ag products, which would greatly affect the lean hog market as the 
U.S. sits on an overabundance of hogs. But seeing export reports that China 
bought soybeans for the 2020/2021 marketing year Tuesday morning lightens some 
of that stress. June lean hogs are down $1.45 at $53.15, July lean hogs are up 
$0.12 at $55.27 and August lean hogs are up $0.85 at $55.95.

   The projected lean hog index for 6/1/2020 is down $0.73 at $59.23 and the 
actual index for 5/29/2020 is down $1.29 at $59.96. Hog prices are unavailable 
on the National Direct Morning Hog Report due to confidentiality. Pork cutouts 
total 307.66 loads with 290.11 loads of pork cuts and 17.55 loads of trim. Pork 
cutout values: down $2.04, $79.00.

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




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