Wednesday markets
The market was influenced another day by the Ukraine/Russia war, with corn heading higher and cattle futures downward in response. There was finally some cash trade today, although prices were steady with a week earlier.
Live cattle futures were in the red. The April contract lost 72 cents to close at $140.17, and the June contract lost 47 cents to close at $138.
“Longer-term, however, the trends on these charts continue to point upward, although days like today push the April chart, for instance, farther away from its February high of $148.70,” Elaine Kub, DTN contributing analyst, wrote in her midday comments.
There was a sizable amount of cash trade today, with 29,734 head sold, steady with last week. Live steers sold from $137-140, averaging $138.39. Dressed steers sold from $221-225, averaging $223.94. On the formula side, a total of 14,300 head averaging 847 lbs. sold for an average of $220.41.
Slaughter for the day is estimated at 125,000 head, bringing the week’s total to about 369,000 head so far—about 3,000 head more than a week ago.
Boxed beef prices were higher on 85 loads. The Choice cutout gained $2.04 to close at $266.54, and the Select cutout gained $2.62 to close at $257.46.
“This grind higher is expected to continue until May, the market topping anytime that month,” wrote Cassie Fish, market analyst, in The Beef. “Occasionally boxes top in June but not typically. As cattle prices seasonally fall in May, packer margins typically widen swiftly at that time.”
Feeder cattle
“Despite Russia’s pledge to reduce hostilities near Kyiv in Ukraine, it turns out they’re still shelling the country, and the global feed grains market is still in trouble without Black Sea exports to rely on,” Kub said. “The classic corn-up/feeder-cattle-down trading pattern is therefore reversing some of the livestock sector’s optimism from Tuesday.”
Feeder cattle futures posted lower today. The March contract lost 72 cents to close at $155.97, and the April contract lost 67 cents to close at $163.67. The CME Feeder Cattle Index gained 12 cents to close at $155.41.
Corn futures saw some movement higher. The May contract gained 11 cents to close at $7.38, and the July contract gained 11 cents to close at $7.20.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 2,400 head on Wednesday. Compared to a week earlier, feeder steers sold $4-6 higher, and feeder heifers weighing less than 800 lbs. sold steady to $2 lower, while over 800 lbs. sold $4-5 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 772 lbs. sold between $151.75-158.85, averaging $156.53. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
