DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/30 06:09

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 01/30 06:09 Cattle Futures Staged for Lower Open Thanks to Larger Than Expected Placement Activity Live and feeder contracts seem likely to open lower Monday as traders react to the larger than expected December placement reported Friday. Look for lean hog issues to begin on a mixed basis thanks to a combination of residual buying and early-week long liquidation. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: 50-100 LR Live Equiv $132.41 - .25* Hogs: Steady-$1 HR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 88.17 + .09** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Monday's cash cattle trade will be typically quiet as packers make their rounds collecting new showlists. We expect the new offering to be about steady with last week. Market watchers will be carefully monitoring the extremely strong basis as we prepare to move into February, asking the obvious question: Is the cash market too rich or is the board too cheap? Our initial guess is that asking prices will start out around $124 in the South and $195 plus in the North. Expect cattle futures to open under pressure with deferred live issues especially catching heat tied to December's large placement confirmed on Friday.