DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 04/24 06:06

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 04/24 06:06 Cattle Futures Staged for Mixed Opening Look for the cattle contracts to open on a mixed basis, torn between cash premiums and bearish on feed news. Lean hog futures also seem set for uneven price action in the early rounds with light trade volume. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady to $2 HR Futures: Mixed Live Equiv $145.58 + .63* Hogs: Steady-$1 LR Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv $ 80.82 + .88** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Is the spring rally in fed cattle just warming up or ready to run out of gas? That will be a big question as buyers and sellers move into the last week of April. Needless to say, activity in the cash cattle trade will be typically limited to the collection of new showlsts. The new offering is expected to be steady to larger than last week. While ready steers and heifers will probably remain unpriced until later in the week, our guess is that bullish producers will be thinking around $135 plus in the South and $215 to $217 in the North. Live and feeder futures should open on a mixed basis with nearby supported by recent feedlot sales and deferred pressured by the larger-than- expected March placement announced on Friday.