DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 08/03 06:27

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 08/03 06:27 Cattle Paper Set to Open Mixed as Traders Nervously Wait for Cash News The cattle complex seems ready to open on a mixed basis thanks to a cautious combination of late-week long liquidation and short covering. Lean hog futures are expected to begin on the defensive thanks to residual selling and deteriorating fundamentals. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Steady/firm Futures: mixed Live Equiv: $135.95 +0.13* Hogs: $1-2 LR Futures: 50-100 LR Lean Equiv $ 78.29 - 0.63** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Cattle buyers and sellers seem to making a strong case for the one-day workweek this summer. It's beginning to appear that cash cattle merchants only need a few hours on Friday to take care of all their marketing chores. At any rate, feedlot managers and packers have once again arrived at the tailend of the week with pretty much nothing done in terms of trading cattle. Look for that to change over the next several hours. Opening bids should be quickly restated around $110 live and $174 dressed, still miles below asking prices of $115 live and $182-184 dressed. Live and feeder futures are expected to open on a mixed basis as specs and commercials jockey ahead of cash news.