DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/19 06:06

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/19 06:06 Given Stabilizing Outside Markets, Cattle Futures Seem Set to Open Mixed If unbothered by outside markets, the cattle complex seems likely to open on a mixed basis tied to a combination of spillover selling and early week short-covering. On the other hand, hog paper is expected to open some higher, supported by appreciating carcass values and ideas of tightening live supplies over the next 30 to 45 days. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 LR Futures: Mixed Live Equiv $154.77 - .98* Hogs: Steady-$1 HR Futures: 10-30 HR Lean Equiv $ 77.57 + .94** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: With futures down for the Martin Luther King holiday, beef producers will be anxious Tuesday to see if the long weekend break allowed cattle futures to shake off the anchor of outside markets. Not only did live and feeder futures crash limit down on Friday, nearby contracts settled way below spot cash prices. Such a strong basis in mid-January is very unusual, and our guess is it will take more stewing over Wall Street, China, and global sluggishness to keep the board so far under cash. Needless to say, both buyers and sellers will want to get a handle on such prospects before getting serious about trading cattle. Country business will certainly not happen Tuesday, and could easily be postponed as late as Friday. Feedlot managers will be in no hurry to price cattle but could start out around $135 in the South and $212 plus in the North. Barring major rumblings from outside markets, cattle futures seem staged for a mixed open tied to some combination of follow-through selling and short-covering.