DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 06/21 05:53

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 06/21 05:53 Meat Futures Staged for Mixed Opening Look for cattle futures to begin with mixed prices thanks to a combination of follow-through selling and short-covering. Lean hog contracts should also open with uneven price action tied to inconsistent spreading in light volume. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 LR Futures: Mixed Live Equiv $144.74 - .92* Hogs: Steady-$1 HR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 93.26 + .20** * 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 market should put in a typically quiet Tuesday with both bids and asking prices poorly defined. It remains unclear as to how well-margined packers are sitting in terms of live inventory. We've heard a few stories in the North of sold cattle being rescheduled for earlier than expected delivery. Yet we're reluctant to generalize at this point. Significant trade volume could easily be delayed until Thursday or Friday. Live and feeder futures are geared to open on a mixed basis thanks to residual selling on one hand and short-covering on the other.