DTN reports:
All three livestock contracts closed lower and show no sign of support building into Tuesday unless new develops about the coronavirus.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live cattle contracts didn’t fare too well through Monday’s fearful selling spree. February live cattle closed $2.72 lower at $117.00, April live cattle closed $3.00 lower at $115.25 and June live cattle closed $2.90 lower at $107.37. New showlists appear to be mixed, higher in Texas, and Kansas, but lower in Nebraska/Colorado. Cash cattle trade has yet to really develop, but when it does this week it will most likely be painful to watch unless the market turns around and makes a come back all while changing the moral of producers, traders and investors.
Boxed beef prices close higher: choice up $1.98 ($207.07) and select up $0.67 ($202.37) with a movement of 98 loads (56.12 loads of choice, 12.11 loads of select, 13.12 loads of trim and 16.97 loads of ground beef). Monday’s slaughter is estimated at 118,000 head, 11,000 head more than a week ago and 3,000 head more than a year ago.
TUESDAY’S CASH CATTLE CALL:
Lower. The futures market (whether rational or not) is tumbling hand over fist. Unless the later part of the week strengthens and producers don’t rapid fire sell their cattle early in the week, cash prices will most likely be lower.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder cattle contracts suffered tremendously Monday as a bulk of the contracts sold with limit losses. March feeders sold $4.17 lower at $136.02, April feeders sold $4.50 lower at $137.60 and May feeders sold $4.50 lower at $138.35. Until the market builds some certainty around knowing how wide and vast the coronavirus is going to spread, worry about other country’s economies becomes worrisome. Compared to last week feeders in Missouri both steers and heifers sold $5.00 to $10.00 higher, with the sharpest advancement of 400 to 550 weight feeders. As the market begins too look to spring and the opportunity of grass, both feeders and farmer feeders are interested in buying up calves but have to pay a little more since there aren’t as many around this year. The CME feeder cattle index 2/21/2020: down $1.05, $141.02.
