DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 03/13 06:08

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 03/13 06:08 Live and Feeder Futures Set to Open Week With Decent Buying Interest Look for the cattle complex to open solidly higher, supported by follow-through buying and stubbornly bullish fundamentals. Lean hog futures seem likely to resume lackluster trading Monday in a narrow price range. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: 50-100 HR Live Equiv $148.19 +2.11* Hogs: Steady-$1 LR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 87.31 +0.17** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: While there could be plenty of feedlot bulls waving flags Monday, the cash cattle trade should start out typically slow with packers limiting initial efforts to the collection of showlists. The new offering is expected to be steady to somewhat larger. Our guess is that asking prices will start out around $128 in the South and $205 plus in the North. The official index roll is scheduled to end on Tuesday. It's possible that frond-end buying interest will improve after that. Live and feeder futures should be staged to open with a firm undertone, boosted by residual buying interest, signs of impressive beef demand and tall cash premiums.