DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/28 05:57

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 02/28 05:57 Light Activity Expected at Month End Trade is expected to remain sluggish through the end of the week with end-of-month position adjustments developing Thursday. This could keep prices hovering in a narrowly mixed range through most of the session. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $145.56 -0.33* Hogs: Steady to $1 Lower Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $ 64.02 -1.39** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Cash cattle trade remains elusive with limited interest midweek. Although a few bids have slowly developed at $125 live and $202 dressed, a $3 to $5 per cwt gap remains between asking prices and current bids. This is expected to narrow in the next couple of days, but at this point, both sides seem to be in no hurry. It is likely that packers may limit any aggressive moves until Friday, March 1, and the opening of a new month of financial spending. Futures trade should open mixed in a moderate range. The ability to hold prices generally stable through the end of the session has been impressive given the lack of firm direction in beef values and inactive cash trade. But traders continue to focus on this ceiling price of $130.10, which limited support Wednesday and the potential for another run at breaching this price point.