DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 06/14 06:18

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 06/14 06:18 Cattle Futures Could Develop Sideways Pattern Cattle futures spent a good portion of the day in negative territory, but as corn futures began to pull back, buying interest began increasing. Fundamentally, the market should be supported. Hogs followed a similar pattern, but pressure remained on nearby months with later contracts posting a higher close. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $245.18 +$0.09* Hogs: Steady Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $96.61 +$1.32** *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 how closely aligned the corn market and cattle were Tuesday. Cattle struggled while corn prices were higher, but as soon as price weakened somewhat, cattle futures showed strength. Corn did close higher but well off the highs. Live cattle had nothing to go on as there was no cash trade yesterday. The anticipation of higher cash has been trimmed a bit now that the numbers of cattle purchased last week were significant. Packers may not need to be aggressive this week. Boxed beef was mixed after the significant strength seen daily over the past week. Choice was up $0.56 with select down $0.76. Feeder cattle spent a large portion of the day in negative territory with more aggressive buying lifting futures as corn prices trimmed their gains. Further initial strength may surface Wednesday with lower overnight corn futures.