DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/22 06:10

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/22 06:10 Look for Cattle Paper to Open Moderately Higher at Midweek Live and feeder issues should open with a firm undertone, supported by follow-through buying and positive cash expectations. On the other hand, hog contracts seem likely to begin with mixed price action with a combination of residual selling and midweek short-covering. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: 25-50 HR Live Equiv $132.21 + .20* Hogs: Steady/firm Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 89.92 - .92** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: As long as cattle futures seem geared to move toward cash premiums, it's a good bet that feedlot managers will dig in their heels with higher asking prices. Some showlists have been priced as high as $123 to $124 in the South and $193 to $195 in the North. Some preliminary bids should start to surface Wednesday, but they may not be much better than $116/$186. Such a wide spread between bids and asking prices could delay the development of significant trade volume until Thursday or Friday. Live and feeder futures should open moderately higher, girded by follow-through buying and country optimism.