DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 10/16 06:23

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 10/16 06:23 Cattle Futures May See Further Pressure Cattle futures were under pressure Tuesday, but not from fundamentals. Lower grain prices and higher boxed beef should have provided support. Hogs showed follow-through weakness after trying to rally. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Lower Live Equiv: $229.66 +$2.43* Hogs: Higher Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $100.40 -$0.57** *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 opened lower Tuesday and never looked back. It seemed as if traders collectively decided it was time to liquidate long positions due to the market being overbought. Feeder cattle led the weakness with $3.00 losses through the next year. Cattle futures did not have pressure from the cash market as that has yet to trade. It did not have pressure from boxed beef as prices closed higher. Choice cuts gained $3.51 and select gained $2.99. The selling seemed to stem from the overbought market triggering a technical correction. This may be short-lived if cash trades steady or higher this week. The current consensus seems to be for steady cash as feedlots may need to move cattle they held back the past few weeks. Steady cash would still be considered a victory and should support futures.