DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 05/17 06:20

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 05/17 06:20 Higher Cash Cattle Trade Expected Friday The livestock complex was higher across the board Thursday. Live cattle opened higher and remained higher throughout the day as anticipation for higher cash trade increased. Hogs began lower then found strong buying interest even though it seemed there was not much support. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Higher Futures: Higher Live Equiv: $226.65 +$1.97* Hogs: Higher Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $106.09 -$1.43** *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: Feeder cattle outpaced live cattle with mostly triple-digit gains Thursday. Optimism seems to have surfaced in the market as boxed beef prices have been strong throughout the week. There was some light cash trade on Thursday at $2.00 to $4.00 higher, but it was limited and did not gather much attention. It certainly looks like packers will need to pay more for cattle even though they will be reluctant. Boxed beef prices Thursday showed choice gaining $3.38 with select up $2.20. The increase in demand cannot be ignored with plants having to increase slaughter to meet that demand. Export sales were good but not exceptional at 15,100 metric tons (mt). Feeder cattle prices in the country have been mixed this week as demand has slowed due to high prices and concerns about future demand.