DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 01/03 06:13

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 01/03 06:13 Livestock Futures May Retrace Cattle futures had a fire lit under them to begin the year with February live cattle making up the discount in nearly one day. Feeder cattle were over $3.00 higher in contracts through October. Hog futures moved in the opposite direction, suffering triple-digit losses, breaking to new contract lows. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Lower Live Equiv: $207.16 -$2.98* Hogs: Lower Futures: Higher Lean Equiv: $91.63 +$90.34** *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: The strength of the December contract going off the board permeated through the cattle market Tuesday, led by the February contract. The discount it was holding to cash and the December contract was nearly made up Tuesday as traders became aggressive in the entire cattle complex. Deferred live cattle contracts were not as strong, but showed nice gains. Feeder cattle showed consistent gains throughout the year. There was no indication of cash potential this week with bids and offers not yet established. The anticipation is packers will need to be more aggressive to obtain the cattle they need. Most of the cattle they purchased last week were for nearby delivery, which means they need cattle to keep sufficient supply for slaughter. The negative aspect of the market was the large decline in boxed beef prices. Choice fell $5.37, while select declined $1.47.