DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/07 06:11

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/07 06:11 Cattle Paper Set to Open with Firm Undertone Expect live and feeder cattle futures to trade moderately higher in the opening rounds, supported by follow-through buying and ideas of stronger cash sales. On the other hand, lean hog contracts are set to begin with mixed prices thanks to a slow combination of spillover selling and short covering. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Higher Futures: 10-30 HR Live Equiv $152.54 + $3.46* Hogs: Steady-$1 HR Futures: mixed Lean Equiv $ 74.42 + 0.45** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Cattle buying interest should start to improve today with at least more preliminary bids thrown on the table. Yet if asking prices remain well grounded, significant trade volume may not surface until sometime Friday. Generally speaking, feedlot steers and heifers are priced around $140-142 in the South and $220 in the North. Packer motivation would appear to be in good shape given attractive processing margins. Live and feeder futures seem staged to open moderately higher, supported by follow-through buying and expectations of greater packer spending in the country by the end of the week.