DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 06/28 06:16

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 06/28 06:16 Hogs and Pigs Report Provides Little Direction The June live cattle contract continued higher Thursday and Friday is the final trading day for the contract. Later contracts drifted lower with traders uncertain of cash. Hogs settled lower ahead of the Hogs and Pigs report. The report showed neutral numbers leaving the market focusing on cash and demand. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Higher Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $235.73 +$0.20* Hogs: Lower Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $100.75 -$0.62** *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: Cash cattle trade is being pushed back until Friday, leaving traders guessing what will transpire. There is optimism for higher cash as feedlots hold out. There were a few dressed cattle traded in Iowa but insufficient to provide solid direction. The June live cattle contract goes off the board Friday and showed a strong gain Thursday with the market closing at a contract high. August will take over as the lead month and currently shows a discount of nearly $6.00. Weekly export sales showed improvement over last week at 16,700 metric tons (mt), up 13%. Boxed beef was mixed with choice up $0.48 and select down $0.16. Feeder cattle prices remain strong at auctions, but futures are waiting for cash cattle to trade to provide solid direction.