DTN Midday Livestock Comments          11/29 11:44

   Cattle Step Meekly Into Monday Trade

   After the cattle market's amazing rally last week, traders are wanting to 
see follow-through support before they bolster the market higher again this 
week. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

   GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Cattle futures are overconfident thus far Monday as traders desperately 
yearn to see follow-through support from the market's fundamental sense before 
making further advancements on top of what last week accomplished. Meanwhile, 
the hog complex isn't worried about trading grimly and sees robust support in 
the furthest deferred months. December corn is down 7 3/4 cents per bushel and 
January soybean meal is down $4.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 
309.47 points and NASDAQ is up 303.63 points.

   LIVE CATTLE:

   If the cash market isn't on the forefront of your mind, I'm not sure what 
would be because the current cash cattle market is utterly amazing. Just three 
weeks ago the market thought it died and went to heaven when fats broke $130; 
now the upper end of last week's trade peaked at $140. The sheer demand the 
beef market is seeing is incredible and it's beyond evident that packers are 
short-bought and the availability of market ready cattle is thin. This bodes 
extremely well for feedlots and, as long as packers keep an aggressive chain 
speed, this hype in the fat cattle market could sustain well into 2022. The 
futures complex is hesitant to rally into Monday's trade as traders are 
tiptoeing into the week's business, needing to see follow-through support from 
the market's fundamental sense. December live cattle are down $1.30 at $136.80, 
February live cattle are down $1.97 at $139.22 and April live cattle are down 
$1.55 at $142.25. Given that packers again committed most of last week's 
purchases to the nearby delivery slot leads one to believe there will be good 
interest in this week's cash cattle market. Showlists this week are steady in 
Texas, higher in Kansas and lower in Nebraska/Colorado.

   Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 110,593 head. Of that 90% 
(99,083 head) were committed for the nearby delivery while the remaining 10% 
(11,510 head) were committed for the deferred delivery of the following 15 to 
30 days.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $2.56 ($282.57) and select up $0.73 
($263.01) with a movement of 28 loads (16.33 loads of choice, 8.01 loads of 
select, zero loads of trim and 3.24 loads of ground beef).

   FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle market is regressing after posting lavish gains last week. 
Last week's Friday-to-Friday livestock contract changes shared that last week 
the January feeder cattle contract jumped by $6.22, and the March feeder cattle 
contracts grew by $4.60. So, to see traders stepping back and looking for 
follow-through support come Monday isn't unusual. January feeders are down 
$1.42 at $165.72, March feeders are down $1.67 at $166.30 and April feeders are 
down $1.65 at $168.22. The market's regression doesn't come from a fundamental 
standpoint but rather from a technical sense as traders need to see 
follow-through fundamental support in order to feel comfortable moving the 
complex higher yet again this week. All throughout last week both feeder cattle 
and calves sold with phenomenal demand so it's likely sales early this week are 
met with the same aggression.

   LEAN HOGS:

   Despite the spot December lean hog contracts traipsing just barely below 
steady, the lean hog complex is trading mostly higher Monday and is seeing 
significant gains in its furthest deferred months. December lean hogs are down 
$0.05 at $73.15, February lean hogs are up $0.55 at $81.57 and April lean hogs 
are up $0.75 at $86.15. Traders are seeing the strong fundamental support in 
both the pork cutout value and in the cash market as positive signs to further 
the hog market's upside and to forget about Friday's rocky close.

   The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 11/26/2021 is down $1.03 at $70.60, and 
the actual index for 11/24/2021 is down $0.93 at $71.63. Hog prices are higher 
on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.13 with a weighted average of 
$55.10, ranging from $52.00 to $57.00 on 5,885 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $55.00. Pork cutouts total 148.02 loads with 132.74 loads of pork 
cuts and 15.28 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $7.50, $91.48.

   **

   In planning for the holiday season and what may come with the new year, make 
plans to attend the 2021 DTN Ag Summit, December 5-7, in Chicago! Visit 
http://www.dtn.com/agsummit for more details about the summit and to register.

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




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