DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 11/15 05:59

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 11/15 05:59 Look For Cattle and Hog Futures to Open Mixed as Traders Await Cash News The cattle complex should start with uneven price action Thursday as bulls and bears argue how late-week cash will land. Along the same lines, lean issues are also likely to open mixed thanks to residual selling and short-covering. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$1 LR Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $139.55 - .77* Hogs: Steady-$1 LR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $ 69.02 -1.67** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Pre-Thanksgiving business in the red meat world always tends to be a tricky affair. Cattle slaughter in the last full week before the turkey blast tends to be a large one, followed by more manageable numbers next week. Our guess is that asking prices will be around $178 to $180 in the North and $110 to $112 in the South. Significant trade volume may not surface until Friday. Live and feeder futures should open in slow gear and with mixed prices as both buyers and sellers try to anticipate post-fundamentals.