DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 04/26 06:18

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 04/26 06:18 Meat Futures Likely to Open on Firm Basis The cattle complex is set to open moderately higher, girded by follow-through buying, oversold charts, and the premium status of recent feedlot sales. Lean hog contracts should also trade higher in the early rounds, supported by short-covering and firming carcass value. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Cash Steady Futures 10-30 HR Live Equiv $147.67 - .19* Hogs: Cash Steady-$1 HR Futures 10-30 HR Lean Equiv $85.46 + .82** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Cash cattle traders seem placed for a typically quiet Tuesday with bids and asking prices poorly defined. We believe initial asking prices will start out around $130 in the South and $205-plus in the North. But country attitudes will depend a great deal upon the ability of the board to stabilize/recover. The necessity of such of an assessment could easily delay significant trade volume until Thursday or Friday. Look for live and feeder futures to open moderately higher, supported by follow-through buying and late-month short-covering.