DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 03/04 06:03

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 03/04 06:03 Pre-Cash Cattle Futures Should Open Higher With Initial Short-Covering Look for live and feeder cattle contracts to open moderately higher, supported by short-covering and ideas of cash stability. Lean hog futures seem staged to begin with mixed prices tied to a combination of follow-through selling and profit-taking. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: 10-30 HR Live Equiv $147.00 - $0.22* Hogs: Steady-$1 LR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 79.78 - $0.33** * 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 buyers and sellers have gone their separate ways all through the week, but they won't be able to completely ignore each other for much longer. Expect light to moderate trade volume to surface sometime Friday but possibly not until late afternoon. Opening bids should be around $135 to $136 in the South and $210 to $212 in the North, still well below asking prices around $140 in the South and $218 to $220 in the North. Live and feeder futures are primed to open moderately higher, boosted by pre-cash short-covering and technical buying.