DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 11/01 06:23

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 11/01 06:23 Livestock Futures May Drift Into Weekend Thursday cattle showed another day with traders holding back waiting for further direction from cash and boxed beef. Hog futures showed some unwinding of spreads, resulting in deferred contracts making new highs. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Lower Live Equiv: $228.36 -$1.74* Hogs: Lower Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $109.04 +$1.54** *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: The October contract went off the board with a bang with a squeeze into the end of trading Thursday, resulting in the contract closing at $193, up $4.60. Very seldom does something like this occur in any market but it is a risk that is always prevalent into the final minutes of trading. The December contract closed slightly lower and in line with the rest of the complex. Most cash trading is finished for the week, resulting in Southern cattle trading steady with last week while Northern dressed cattle traded as much as $3.00 lower. The continued weakness of boxed beef does not provide much support to the market with traders unwilling to step back in to buy the break in futures. Boxed beef prices closed lower with choice down $1.84 and select down $3.95. The low weekly export sales number of 13,900 metric tons does not provide support as international buyers have stepped back.