DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 05/30 05:53
30 May 2018
DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 05/30 05:53 Cattle Futures Staged for Defensive Opening Live and feeder futures should open moderately lower, pressured by follow-through selling and early summer demand uncertainty. On the other hand, lean hog issues are likely to begin with mixed prices thanks to follow-through buying and cash discounts. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 LR Futures: 50-100 LR Live Equiv: $146.92 - .19* Hogs: Steady-$1 HR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $ 81.53 + .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: Look for a few bids and asking prices to slowly surface in parts of cattle-feeding country Wednesday. Yet significant trade volume will probably be delayed until Thursday or Friday. Feedlot managers will be aggressively pumping the brakes, hoping they can somehow find a way to stabilize the stumbling cash trade. Given outstanding processing margins, packers wouldn't mind holding country bids near steady if they could depend on stabilized wholesale prices at the same time. Live and feeder contracts are likely to open moderately lower, checked by follow-through selling and uncertain late-spring/early-summer beef demand.