DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 02/28 06:18

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 02/28 06:18 Traders Uncertain About Price Strength Traders are uncertain about the direction of the market this week. Cattle are not expected to see the cash strength of last week, leaving trade cautious. Hog futures traded on both sides of unchanged with traders looking for price direction. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $222.17 +0.36* Hogs: Higher Futures: Higher Lean Equiv: $97.68 +$0.88** *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: Cattle still felt uncertainty about price direction after the Cattle on Feed report Friday. Placements in January being higher than expected do not change the tight supply of cattle the market continues to face. It will be up to continued strong demand to maintain and improve prices. There was some weakness in choice boxed beef Tuesday, but it was negligible with a loss of $0.05. However, select cuts were strong, posting a gain of $2.41. The price increase in cash cattle last week will be difficult to duplicate this week with packers likely holding the line with steady cash at best.