DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 10/20 06:41

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 10/20 06:41 Cattle Futures Focused on Potential Follow-Through Pressure Cattle futures are expected to walk the line between early morning short-covering and follow-through liquidation early Thursday morning, although initial volume is expected to remain light. Mixed trade is expected in lean hog futures as narrow trading ranges are likely to redevelop across the complex. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst Cattle: Steady to $2 LR Futures: Mixed Live Equiv $121.68 - 1.71* Hogs: Steady to $1 LR Futures: Lower Lean Equiv $ 78.17 - 0.82** * 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 trade still needs to be done with the only reportable trade seen Wednesday being sales of over 11,000 head of cattle on the fed cattle exchange. Packer bids are expected to be reestablished early Thursday steady to lower from where they were midweek following the pressure seen in futures trade and beef values. Even though interest will start to improve through the day, overall trade activity may be delayed until later in the week and potentially after the Cattle on Feed report is released Friday afternoon. Cattle futures are expected to start out defensive following the sharp late-day pressure, which quickly developed in live cattle and feeder cattle markets Wednesday afternoon. The potential for additional long-term pressure developing through the end of the week could eliminate recent market support and cause significant technical damage. Potential short-covering is possible given the fact that trade activity is likely to remain light through the morning.