DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 03/14 06:16

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 03/14 06:16 Mixed Trading Activity Expected It was another day of lower futures for the cattle complex. Nearby live and feeder cattle contracts left chart gaps on the open Monday as traders wanted to liquidate. Hogs were under pressure much of the day but managed to make a nice comeback at the end with deferred contracts closing higher. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $211.64 +$0.31* Hogs: Higher Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $96.04 +$1.00** *Based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue. (The Live Cattle Equiv. Index has been updated to depict recent changes in live cattle weights and grading percentages.) ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue. GENERAL COMMENTS: It was interesting to see the desire of traders to liquidate futures in the cattle complex right from the start Monday. This left chart gaps in April and June live cattle and March feeder cattle. Aggressive selling subsided over time and contracts were able to close about $1.00 off the lows. It almost seems as if there is a change in attitude and futures may move to holding a discount to cash in anticipation of further weakness. However, with tighter cattle numbers it would seem there will be little downside potential. Boxed beef prices struggled last week with mixed prices Monday. Choice slipped $0.05 with select up $2.08. Packers were able to purchase a sufficient volume of cattle for slaughter last week and defer 25% of those purchases for future delivery, even though cash traded steady.