DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/01 06:00

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/01 06:00 Look for Hog Paper to Open Moderately Higher Lean hog contracts should open moderately higher, supported by follow-through buying and strengthening fundamentals. Conversely, cattle futures seem likely to begin some lower, pressured by residual selling and long liquidation. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 LR Futures: 25-50 LR Live Equiv $132.56 - .22 Hogs: Steady-$1 HR Futures: 25-50 HR Lean Equiv $ 89.53 + .79** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Cash cattle market watchers could start to see a few more starter bids Wednesday, perhaps some cautious preliminaries around $116 on a live basis and $187 to $188 dressed. While it goes without saying that feedlot managers will not be amused by such gut shots. On the other hand, further weakness in futures could further force producers to reassess cash potential. Our guess is that asking prices will start out around $120 to $122 live and $192 dressed. With plenty of grumbling to go around on both sides, significant trade volume could easily be delayed until Thursday or Friday. Live and feeder futures are staged to open moderately lower, checked by spillover selling and long liquidation.