Market Highlights: Cattle and Grain Prices Surge

As of the latest trading session, March feeder cattle have shown a significant uptick, closing up $4.85 at $364.55 per hundredweight (cwt). Similarly, April live cattle finished the day higher by $1.10, settling at $238.43 per cwt. Additionally, April lean hogs rose by $2.30, reaching $95 per cwt.

Cattle Complex Recovery

“The cattle complex took back yesterday’s losses and then some,” reports the Commstock Report. “Feeder cattle futures finished the day $3–5 higher while live cattle futures recorded an increase of $1–2.”

Despite slower fed cattle cash trade anticipated for later in the week, the futures market is showing strength, with three out of the last four days reporting gains. This upward trend puts cattle feeders in a favorable position. However, live cattle futures have been reluctant to rise commensurately with feeder prices, leading to a widening gap between feeder and live cattle futures. Feeder cattle futures are nearing their all-time highs from October, with less than $5 to bridge the gap to January prices. Achieving these highs will depend on the performance of live cattle futures, fed cattle cash prices, and boxed beef prices.

At midday, the boxed beef market was notably higher, with prices for Choice beef up $1.91 at $360.44 and Select beef gaining $2.28, reaching $359.93. The Choice/Select spread now stands at $0.51.

Grain Market Movements

In the grain markets, March corn saw a slight decline of 1¾¢, settling at $4.20¼ per bushel. Conversely, March soybeans increased by 10½¢ to close at $10.53 per bushel.

Wheat markets also experienced fluctuations, with March CBOT wheat down 2¢ at $5.10½ per bushel, March Kansas City wheat down 5¢ at $5.17¼ per bushel, and March Minneapolis wheat declining by 4½¢ to $5.62½.

Export Sales Analysis

The USDA’s latest weekly U.S. Export Sales report for the week ending January 8 offers insights into market dynamics:

• **Corn**: Weekly export sales reached a net of 1.14 million metric tons (mmt), reflecting a sharp increase from the previous week but down 10% from the four-week average.
• **Soybeans**: Remarkably strong weekly net export sales totaled 2.062 mmt, exceeding trade estimates and up 54% from the four-week average. Notably, China accounted for 1.2 mmt of this total.
• **Wheat**: Weekly net export sales reported were relatively weak at 156,300 metric tons, though this marks a slight increase from last week and reflects a 21% decrease from the four-week average.

Market Snapshot

As the market landscape evolves, here are some key figures from the morning trading session:

• March Feeder Cattle: Up $2.85 at $362.55 per cwt.
• April Live Cattle: Up 80¢ at $238.13 per cwt.
• April Lean Hogs: Up 85¢ at $93.55 per cwt.
• March Crude Oil: Down $2.92 at $58.96 per barrel.
• U.S. Dollar Index: Up to 99.22.
• S&P 500 Index: Up 37.97 points.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up 251.99 points.

Stay tuned for further updates as the market continues to evolve.

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