DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 05/02 06:25

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 05/02 06:25 Markets May See Further Liquidation Thursday The news of the avian flu in cattle is running rampant with numerous articles detailing concerns about the impacts this may have on people if it becomes more widespread. Cattle futures sunk Wednesday under the weight of these articles, taking hog futures down with them. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Lower Futures: Lower Live Equiv: $217.30 -$0.89* Hogs: Lower Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $103.90 -$0.77** *Based on the formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue. (The Live Cattle Equiv. The 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: Market fundamentals did not mean anything Wednesday as selling ran rampant due to numerous stories about concerns of the avian flu virus in milk and possibly meat. No virus has been discovered in meat at this time, but some of the articles fueled trader anxiety. Fund traders had been holding significant long positions in the cattle markets and they may liquidate those positions. One concern is the export market may fall off if other countries decide to take precautions for even a limited time. Packers are not expected to be aggressive this week with lower cash trade anticipated. Boxed beef prices were lower with choice down $0.83 and select down $1.88. The one positive action Wednesday was chart gaps remaining in later futures contracts were closed.