DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/22 06:12

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/22 06:12 Cattle Futures Geared for Mixed Early-Week Opening Live and feeder futures seem likely to open on a mixed basis with nearby contracts better supported than deferreds. Lean hogs seem set to open moderately lower, checked by follow-through selling and softer carcass value. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: Mixed Live Equiv $143.14 - $0.89* Hogs: Steady Futures: 10-30 LR Lean Equiv $ 78.99 - $0.73** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: The cash cattle trade should be typically quiet Monday morning as packers move to collect new showlists. Still, market tongues will be wagging about the significance of the Saturday spending that surface in Kansas, Texas, and western Nebraska (i.e., light to moderate trade volume at $134). Some buyers were clearly short-bought and presumably still are. We expect the late February offering to be somewhat larger than last week, inflated by unsold steers and heifers carried over from last week. Our guess is that initial asking prices will be around $138 in the South and $215 in the North. Look for cattle futures to open mixed, tied to a combination of stronger feedlot sales and defensive late-winter beef demand.