DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/28 05:50

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/28 05:50 Meat Futures Staged for Mixed Opening at Midweek Look for cattle futures to open on a mixed basis thanks to follow-through buying on one hand and long liquidation on the other. Lean hog contracts are also expected to begin with uneven price action with nearbys losing more ground to deferreds. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: Mixed Live Equiv $147.74 + .39 Hogs: Steady-$1 LR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 84.58 - .74** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: The midweek cash cattle trade is expected to remain a slow affair. We could see a few more bids tossed on the table, as well as more preliminary asking prices. Significant trade volume will probably be delayed until Thursday or Friday. Of course, it's possible that the changing of the guard in live futures (i.e., February's expiration and April's new spot position) could impact the timing of cash market development. If April begins to rally toward cash, feedlot managers may feel more comfortable in waiting for better packer bids. On the other hand, if April stalls and/or deepens its discount, negative psychology could prompt feedlot managers to throw in the towel relatively early. Live and feeder futures should open on a mixed basis thanks to a slow combination of residual buying and long liquidation.