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Cattle futures close higher

Both bids and asking prices are poorly defined in feedlot country on Tuesday. A few Southern feedlot managers have suggested asking prices around 123.00 to 124.00. Significant business is not expected until late in the week. The slaughter was estimated at 115,000 head, 2,000 more than last week, and 4,000 greater than a year ago.

Boxed beef cutout values were higher on the choice and weak on select on light to moderate demand and moderate offerings. Choice beef was up .90 at 191.81, select 189.91, down .59.

Live cattle futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed .35 to 1.17 higher on Tuesday. Futures held the moderate to strong gains as traders returned to the market with slightly bullish expectations developing as they build on the support seen through the end of the week. Front month February finished over 119.00 again but off the day’s high. Short covering and cash optimism appeared to be the main features in the cattle complex.

Feeder cattle ended the session .47 to 1.10 higher and led the entire cattle complex higher, but ended off the highs for the day. With no additional support developing through the entire cash cattle markets and little sense of direction in from beef values, the potential to draw buyers back into the feeder cattle trade helped to spark some additional longer term market support through the nearby and deferred contracts, according to Rick Kment at DTN.

At the Joplin Regional Stockyards on Saturday there was a special cow and bull auction with receipts of 1157 head. There was a moderate number of buyers on hand. The sale opened with a consignment of Simmental, Angus and Simmental-Angus bulls. Some of the bulls were Show-Me-Select qualified. Another consignment of Horned Hereford bulls preceded the replacement cow sale. Replacement bulls medium and large 1, one and a half to two years old weighing 1090 to 1475 pounds brought $2300.00 to 3800.00 with some $4000.00 to 5250.00. Bred cows medium and large 1, aged 3 to 7 years, second and third stage weighing 1135 to 1340 pounds traded from $1450.00 to 1675.00.

Lean hogs settled .25 higher to .42 lower with the April through August contracts lower. There was an initial surge in prices at the opening bell, but the overall tone of the market settled into a narrow but mixed trading range with no incentive for traders to move one direction or the other. Traders remain uncertain as to the short term direction in cash values even though underlying support remains firm at this point.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed .57 lower with a weighted average of 73.64, the West was down .38 at 73.71, and nationally the market was 1.24 lower at 72.71. Missouri direct base carcass meat price was steady to 1.00 higher from 63.00 to 64.00. Illinois direct trade barrows and gilts were steady from 42.00 to 52.00.

The pork carcass cutout value was down .92 at 84.54 FOB plant. The belly primal was $7.48 lower.

The spread between cash hog prices and the cutout is narrowing and swings in the cutout value will now have more of an impact in the country trade, according to John Harrington at DTN.

The Tuesday hog kill was estimated by USDA at 444,000 head, 10,000 more than last week, and 8,000 greater than last year.

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