DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/27 05:52

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/27 05:52 Cattle Futures Set for Firm Opening Live and feeder contacts seem staged to open moderately, supported by follow-through buying and midweek short-covering. Similarly, lean hog futures should begin Wednesday with a firm undertone tied to bull spreading interest and constructive fundamentals. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady/Firm Futures: 25-50 HR Live Equiv $149.20 - .97* Hogs: $1-2 HR Futures: 25-50 HR Lean Equiv $ 80.64 + .99** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Starter bids should begin to surface in parts of feedlot country at midweek, especially given the limited trade volume totals generated last week. Yet we would be surprised to see significant trade volume surface before Thursday or Friday. Packers may be short-bought, but processing margins do seem to be narrowing. Some asking prices should be around $136 to $138 in the South and $212 to $214 in the North. Live and feeder futures are likely to open moderately higher, girded by follow-through buying and short-covering.