DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 08/15 06:13

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 08/15 06:13 Hog Futures Set for Moderate Strength on Opening Look for lean hog futures to open moderately higher, supported by follow-through buying and bull-spreading interest. The cattle complex should also open higher thanks to short-covering and cash premiums. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: 25-50 HR Live Equiv $135.99 + .01* Hogs: Steady Futures: 25-50 HR Lean Equiv $ 80.25 - .05** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Last week's negotiated cattle market was limited to a small window of time on Friday, enough to squeeze light to moderate trade volume in the South ($119, steady to $1 higher) and light volume in the North ($187, steady to $1 lower). That should mean that larger showlists will be distributed Monday morning, padded by unsold inventories carried over (especially in the North). The short-bought status of cattle buyers could trigger an earlier start to cash trading, but certainly not as early as Monday. Our guess is that showlists will be priced around $122 in the South and $190 to $192 in the North. Live and feeder futures seem ready to open moderately higher, supported by early-week short-covering and cash premiums.