DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 11/25 06:23

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 11/25 06:23 Cattle Futures May See Early Pressure Monday Traders were not concerned over the Cattle on Feed report Friday, but focused on the cash market and the fact that prices were steady to higher for the week. Hogs defied the lower cash and cutouts that had plagued the market during the week to close higher through the August contract. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Lower Live Equiv: $220.53 +$0.09* Hogs: Higher Futures: Lower Lean Equiv: $97.69 -$1.33** *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 cattle complex pushed higher Friday with feeder cattle again leading the charge. This is the second week feeder cattle have outperformed live cattle, pushing through technical resistance and garnering increased buying interest. It was a bit unusual for traders to buy aggressively ahead of the Cattle on Feed report. They generally want to reduce exposure and will position themselves to that end. However, they felt more confident over the steady to higher cash received for cattle rather than what the report might say. After all, most often the reaction to the report is short-lived. The report was slightly negative and may trigger selling to begin Monday. Cattle on feed as of Nov. 1 was 100.3% at 11.986 million head compared to the estimate of 99.9%. Placements were higher at 105.3% at 2.286 million compared to the estimate of 103.3%. Marketings came in at 104.7% at 1.845 million head compared to the estimate of 105.1%. The Commitments of Traders report showed fund traders adding 5,098 live cattle futures contracts, increasing their net-long position to 108,415. They added 1,608 futures contracts to increase their net-long position in feeder cattle to 13,667.