DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 11/04 06:17

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 11/04 06:17 Fund Traders Hold Record-Long Hog Futures Positions Cattle futures rebounded nicely from the lows on Friday, likely due to the desire to liquidate recent sold positions ahead of the weekend. The fundamentals did not suggest a change in trend. Hogs had a positive day and week with new contract highs again Friday. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Lower Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $227.66 -$0.70* Hogs: Lower Futures: Higher Lean Equiv: $109.88 +$0.84** *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: Last week was not a positive week for cattle and the initial outlook for this week does not look supportive. Cash cattle did well, considering the weakness of boxed beef and the need for feedlots to move some cattle. Southern cattle traded steady with Northern dressed cattle ranging as much as $3.00 lower. Futures did correct from being overbought, but weakness also came from the steady decline of boxed beef prices. Boxed beef closed on Friday with choice down $3.26 and select down $0.34. It may be difficult for futures to shake last week's weakness unless there is positive evidence of demand. Restaurant traffic is lighter than usual as consumers struggle with high food prices and have changed their eating habits to compensate. This may mean reducing the consumption of higher-priced beef. The Commitments of Traders showed fund traders increasing their long positions in live cattle futures by 7,691 contracts, bringing their net-long position to 100,516 contracts. They sold 524 contracts in feeder cattle, reducing their net-long futures position to 7,751 contracts.