DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 04/17 06:10

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 04/17 06:10 Livestock Paper Should Return From Holiday With a Firm Undertone Look for the cattle complex at the CME to open solidly higher, supported by greater packer spending on Thursday and short-covering. Lean hog issues seem likely to begin with moderate gains, helped a bit by the premium of the cash index, spillover support from cattle futures and anticipation of a positive seasonal trend. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady-$2 HR Futures: 50-100 HR Live Equiv $141.61 + .26* Hogs: Steady-$1 LR Futures: 25-50 HR Lean Equiv $ 80.51 + .42** * 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 feedlot country Monday morning will be typically slow as packers limit their efforts to the distribution of new showlists. We assume that ready cattle will be priced several dollars higher based upon the impressive way the cash trade recovered on Thursday (i.e., $128 in the South, $2 higher; $200 to $207, mostly $6 to $7 higher). On the other hand, processing margins are tightening and fed numbers are scheduled to increase as we move through the spring and early summer. Live and feeder futures should open solidly higher, supported by recent cash strength and technical buying.