DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/03 06:12

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/03 06:12 Meat Futures Staged to Launch 2017 With Firm Opening Look for the cattle complex to open solidly higher, supported by early-year short-covering and cash premiums. Lean hog contracts should also open on a firm basis thanks to spillover buying and signs of decent pork demand. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: 50-100 HR Live Equiv $137.31 - .32* Hogs: Steady Futures: 50-100 HR Lean Equiv $ 87.05 + .69** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Feedlot country will be typically quiet Tuesday as packers focus exclusively on the distribution of new showlists. We expect the early-year offering to be about steady with last week. Our guess is that bullish-minded producers will initially price showlists around $120 to $122 in the South and $195 plus in the North. A serious market test could easily be postponed until Thursday or later. Live and feeder futures should open higher, supported by early-year short-covering and recent cash premiums.