DTN Midday Livestock Comments          11/17 11:49

   Traders Show the Livestock Complex Ample Support Monday Morning

   Traders are eagerly supporting the livestock contracts into Monday's noon 
hour. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading higher into Monday's noon hour as trader 
support remains ample. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas, but 
lower in Kansas and Nebraska/Colorado. December corn is up 5 1/4 cents per 
bushel and December soybean meal is up $6.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average 
is down 36.39 points and NASDAQ is up 14.10 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex is trading higher into Monday's noon hour as traders 
note the announcement that came on Friday that tariffs on food was going to be 
reduced. The current tariff on Brazilian beef remains at 40%, so it's still 
unknown how this will affect the greater marketplace as the U.S. still needs 
lean beef, but a 40% tariff is still a relatively strong barrier. December live 
cattle are up $1.40 at $220.60, February live cattle are up $1.57 at $221.10 
and April live cattle are up $1.65 at $221.22. New showlists appear to be 
mixed, higher in Texas, but lower in Kansas and Nebraska/Colorado.

   Throughout last week's trade, Southern live cattle were marked at $226 to 
mostly $228, which is $3.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. 
Northern dressed cattle traded anywhere from $346 to $355, but mostly at $351, 
which is $8.00 lower than the previous week's weighted average. And to only 
make matters worse, packers were able to get some cattle committed for delivery 
for the weeks of Dec. 1 and Dec. 8 as they slowly, but surely are buying up 
supplies to ensure that they're not short bought in the weeks ahead and 
potentially run the risk of letting feedlot managers gain the upper hand in the 
market again. Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 55,342 head. Of 
that, 83% (45,792 head) were committed to the market's nearby delivery, while 
the remaining 17% (9,550 head) were committed to the market's deferred delivery 
option.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.74 ($369.99) and select up $0.73 
($354.97) with a movement of 37 loads (22.85 loads of choice, 5.65 loads of 
select, zero loads of trim and 8.68 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle complex is also trading higher into Monday's noon hour as 
the feeder cattle market has been closely following the direction of the live 
cattle contracts. January feeders are up $4.87 at $325.42, March feeders are up 
$4.17 at $317.52 and April feeders are up $4.00 at $315.07. As long as the live 
cattle complex remains strong through the day's end, it's likely that the 
feeder cattle complex will too.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog complex is trading mixed as the futures market wants to trade 
higher but needs reassurance from consumers that they're going to show up at 
the meat counter with more demand before they'll do so confidently. December 
lean hogs are up $0.30 at $78.80, February lean hogs are up $0.37 at $79.75 and 
April lean hogs are up $0.05 at $83.17. It's likely a slightly higher close for 
the day is in sight as the greater livestock complex is being met with ample 
trader support.

   The projected lean hog index is delayed from the source. Hog prices are 
unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because no hogs have traded 
yet. The only thing we are able to see is that the five-day rolling average now 
sits at $81.50. Pork cutouts total 194.63 loads with 153.03 loads of pork cuts, 
and 41.60 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.22, $97.00.

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




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