DTN Midday Livestock Comments 01/14 12:12

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 01/14 12:12 Kicked the Monday Blues Monday may have whittled on the market's progression, but Tuesday has opened its doors to trading higher and aggressively trades higher into the noon hour. By ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst General Comments Kicking the Monday blues to the corner for most of the morning, Tuesday trades higher throughout all three livestock markets. Lean hog contracts keep well amped with aggressive slaughter, a bump in cutout values and the cash market, which are reflecting through the board's strength in that market. March corn is down 3/4 cent per bushel and March soybean meal is down $1.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 124.26 points and NASDAQ is up 5.79 points. LIVE CATTLE Feeders are batting for higher prices again this week as early asking prices in Nebraska are starting out at $126 to $127 live and $205-plus for dressed cattle. Other regions have yet to post their asking prices. For Wednesday's Fed Cattle Exchange there are 744 head consigned -- with two pens from Nebraska, two pens from Kansas and two pens from Texas. All are for one-to-nine-day delivery. Wednesday will still probably be too early in the week for cattle trade but will be a good indication as to how packers perceive this week's trading shaking out. Show lists are mixed for the week, higher in Texas and most of the Northern Plains but smaller in Kansas. The live cattle board has picked up its tempo and is trading steadily higher throughout most of the complex. February live cattle are up $0.52 at $127.07, April live cattle are up $0.40 at $127.92 and June live cattle are up $0.20 at $119.70. Boxed beef prices are higher: choice is up $2.60 ($213.15) and select is up $1.84 ($210.07) with a movement of 58 loads (31.00 loads of choice, 9.95 loads of select, 4.94 loads of trim and 12.22 loads of ground beef). FEEDER CATTLE Feeder cattle contracts are the most reluctant Tuesday morning to progress higher; nearby contracts are lower while deferred are higher. January feeders are down $0.10 at $145.92, March feeders are down $0.02 at $145.82 and April feeders steady at $148.80. As sale barns anticipate another prosperous week, and if fat cattle are able to secure steady to higher prices, the feeder cattle board may work its way up. LEAN HOGS Lean hog contracts are taking Tuesday in stride as all contracts through August 2020 are trading well over $1.00 higher. Hog slaughter continues to be very aggressive and support from higher cutout values is welcomed gesture. February lean hogs are up $2.17 at $68.07, April lean hogs are up $1.67 at $75.05 and May lean hogs are up $1.72 at $81.45. The projected lean hog index for 1/13/2020 is up $0.01 at $59.00, and the actual lean hog index for 1/10/2020 was reported at $58.99, down $0.37. Hog prices on the National Direct Morning Hog Report are higher, up $0.52 with a weighted average of $51.11, ranging from $47.50 to $51.50 on 7,625 head sold and a five-day rolling average of $50.66. Pork cutouts totaled 218.78 loads with 203.36 loads of pork cuts and 15.42 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.28, $74.52. ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com (CZ) Copyright 2020 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.