DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 07/16 06:22

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 07/16 06:22 Friday Trading May Mirror Thursday Livestock futures were generally able to hold their own Thursday and may not trade much differently Friday. Cash cattle trade will be limited with hog buyers likely not being aggressive. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $199.87 -$1.64* Hogs: Lower Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $126.25 +$0.83** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue. (The Live Cattle Equiv. Index has been updated to depict recent changes in live cattle weights and grading percentages.) ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Traders could not find solid direction for livestock futures Thursday. Live cattle could not find anything to get excited about from weekly exports sales as they only reached 9,300 metric tons (mt), down 61% from the previous week and 44% from the four-week average. Packers purchased cattle Thursday, but prices remained steady with last week. Any cleanup business Friday will likely be at steady prices. Boxed beef prices fell with choice cuts down $3.01 and select cuts down $1.27, moving cutouts to the lowest level since early April. Continued weakness of boxed beef does not bode well for higher cash as time progresses. This, along with the fact that packers have been able to purchase ahead without difficulty, may limit upside potential. Traders are not diving in to purchase futures as they see little reason for stronger prices. Futures already have premiums built into the market through April of next year, which provides hope of better prices.