DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 06/28 06:23

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 06/28 06:23 Weak Hog Futures Expected Following Hogs and Pigs Report End-of-week pressure is expected in lean hog futures as traders adjust to the aggressive triple-digit gains on Thursday. Record hog inventory levels of 75.5 million hogs signal continued herd growth during 2019. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $140.89 -0.69* Hogs: Steady to $2 Lower Futures: Lower Lean Equiv: $ 79.18 +0.22** * 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 is rolling into Friday after a lack of trade in most areas this week and limited interest by packers to this point. Even though light-to-moderate trade will develop sometime Friday, it appears that both sides are in no hurry or have no urgency to trade cattle this week. Bids are quiet, but the wide gap between bids and asking prices this week is not expected to change Friday morning, and will likely limit the overall movement of cash trade unless there are major changes during the day. Futures trade is expected to be mixed with end-of-the-month and quarter positioning being one of the main factors. This may add increased underlying support as the general market tone has firmed during the week. Front-month feeder cattle futures have rallied over $4 per cwt off of weekly and contract lows, allowing for potential support to redevelop during early July. Although beef market fundamentals remain generally weak leading into the month of July and Fourth of July holiday, the technical support in the complex is helping to regain underlying market stability.