DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 02/16 06:16

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 02/16 06:16 Cattle Futures Move Sideways The livestock complex reached higher Tuesday with optimism for increasing cash and tighter supplies continuing. Support also stemmed from another powerful winter storm pushing across the country Wednesday through Friday. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady. Futures: Mixed. Live Equiv: $204.23 -$1.97* Hogs: Steady. Futures: Higher. Lean Equiv: $114.19 -$1.26** *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: Live cattle did not receive any direction from cash Tuesday, yet futures pushed higher in the attempt to regain the losses from the previous two days. Traders feel cash will be no worse than steady this week due to the strong slaughter pace and the need for packers to obtain animals and maintain that pace. However, packers continue to battle with lower boxed beef prices. Tuesday, choice cuts were down $3.59 with select down $0.93. This may keep packers less aggressive even though they may need to purchase a greater volume of cattle. Corn futures may have declined significantly Tuesday, but price remains near the highs and did not really changing feed costs. This may result in feedlots wanting to move cattle as holding out may not improve profitability. Some cash activity is expected to surface Wednesday. The winter storm will impact movement and reduce feeding efficiency.