DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 04/21 06:26

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 04/21 06:26 Traders Prepare For Cattle on Feed Cattle futures did an about-face Thursday after spending time in negative territory. Feeder cattle had an impressive price swing as traders bought the break. Hogs reacted to Wednesday's lower cutouts and the inability of cash to trade higher. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady/Lower Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $225.61 -$0.04* Hogs: Higher Futures: Higher Lean Equiv: $85.18 +$1.34** *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: April live cattle took a hit Thursday, closing lower, while later contracts rejected early lower prices and closed higher. Northern dressed cattle trading $2.00 lower kept the pressure on the nearby month. There is hope that packers may need to step up Friday to finish purchasing for the week; but the cash trend so far this week is steady to $2.00 lower. Boxed beef was mixed with choice up $1.07 and select down $2.72. Select is now at $306.99, which may begin to affect demand. Weekly exports sales were higher than last week at 19,100 metric tons (mt), but that did not have much impact on the market as the market was under pressure early. Feeder cattle futures had an impressive price swing with May fluctuating in a $4.00 range. Traders bought the break, pushing contracts to new highs. Trading activity may be mixed today as traders prepare for the Cattle on Feed report to be released after the close of trading. On feed numbers on April 1 are estimated at 94.8%. Placements during the month of March at 95.2%. Marketed in March is estimated at 98.9%.