DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 12/05 06:02

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 12/05 06:02 Oversold Cattle Futures Likely to Open Moderately Higher Live and feeder futures are set to be initially supported Monday thanks to preliminary rounds of short-covering and the tall premiums of recent feedlot sales. Lean hog contracts should open on a mixed basis with nearby better supported than defenders. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: 50-100 HR Live Equiv $126.98 - .35* Hogs: Steady-$1 HR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 78.34 -1.04** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Activity in cattle country Monday will be typically limited to the distribution of new showlists. We expect the offering of ready numbers to be about steady with last week. Initially, asking prices should be around $116 to $118 in the South and $176 to $178 plus in the North. Both buyers and sellers will be carefully monitoring the huge spread between cash and futures. Monday marks first notice for December live cattle. Needless to say, the board's extreme discount is anything but attractive to would-be deliverers. Live and feeder futures seem likely to open moderately higher, supported by short-covering and the premium status of feedlot cash.