DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 07/26 06:21

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 07/26 06:21 Traders Wait For Northern Dressed Trade Friday Cattle futures found buying interest Thursday as cash cattle traded $2.00 higher in the South. Feedlots won the victory, holding out until packers had to raise bids to get cattle on the books. Hog futures took a breather as packers held back on aggressive buying due to purchasing sufficient supply earlier in the week. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Higher Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $228.30 +$0.07* Hogs: Lower Futures: Higher Lean Equiv: $111.90 +$1.19** *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: Traders were surprised at Southern cattle trading $2.00 higher Thursday. The consensus had been that cash would be no better than steady this week. The weakness of boxed beef again this week and some cattle that were already purchased ahead did not impact cash business Thursday. Northern dressed trade will be the key to whether live cattle futures will see further strength Friday. Futures have already adjusted to the higher cash. Weekly export sales of 13,400 metric tons (mt) were lower than the previous week. The June Cold Storage report did not show any large change in inventory, leaving the report neutral to the market. Boxed beef prices were mixed with choice down $0.22 and select up $1.15. Feeder cattle followed the lead of live cattle but without much conviction. Feeder cattle auction prices have been variable.