DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 08/16 06:31

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 08/16 06:31 Lower Cash Cattle Trade Expected Friday The optimism seen Wednesday over higher cash trade this week eroded Thursday with some light cattle sales taking place at lower prices. Hogs gained support from both cash and cutouts. Futures moved to the highest close in over a week. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Lower Futures: Lower Live Equiv: $231.76 +$1.34* Hogs: Lower Futures: Higher Lean Equiv: $106.05 +$0.56** *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: Cattle futures had been slowly regaining some of the losses of two weeks ago, but the gains have not been without a fight. The gains of Wednesday were eliminated Thursday as the optimism for cash trade this week has eroded. A few cattle traded in Nebraska and Iowa at $6.00 lower than last week. This may have set the stage for significantly lower cash trade, leaving little reason for futures to move higher. Weekly export sales were good at 28,100 metric tons (mt) and a marketing-year high. Boxed beef was higher with choice up $2.06 and select up $1.53. This may not provide support as traders focus on the cash cattle trade in the country. The packers continue to run reduced slaughter schedules to leverage the cash market.