DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 12/10 05:57

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 12/10 05:57 Cattle Futures Set to Open on Firm Basis Thanks to Positive Late-Year Fundamentals Live and feeder contracts should initially open higher, supported by late-week packer spending and stronger wholesale product sales. On the other hand, lean hog issues are likely to start out with mixed price action with deferreds probably outperforming spot December. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$1 HR Futures: 50-100 HR Live Equiv: $140.56 +1.19* Hogs: Steady Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $ 78.44 +1.50* * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Last week's cash cattle trade once again required market-watchers to burn the midnight oil. Finally, in the late afternoon, short-bought packers were forced to find bigger checks ($119 in the South; $187 in the North) in order to cover mid-December slaughter needs. Movement seemed moderate to fairly active, especially in the North. Monday's activity will be limited to the distribution of new showlists. We expect the offering to be steady to somewhat larger than last week. And don't be surprised if buyers and sellers schedule yet another price party on Thursday or Friday. Cattle futures are staged to open moderately higher, generally supported by constructive fundamentals.