DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 12/26 06:03

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 12/26 06:03 Early Trading Activity Expected To Be Light There was not much for traders to go on during the shortened trading day on Tuesday. There were no reports of cash cattle trading and no reports of boxed beef prices. Hog futures followed a similar pattern as trading activity was light with limited interest in a price direction Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Steady Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: N/A* Hogs: Lower Futures: Lower Lean Equiv: N/A** *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: Cash cattle trade is expected today but it is uncertain what prices will do. The USDA did not release any reports on Tuesday keeping traders guessing what boxed beef prices did. The hope is that cash cattle will trade no worse than steady this week. However, the packers had purchased a significant amount of cattle ahead possibly leaving them in the position to hold the line on prices or even maintain lower bids due to next week also being a holiday week. It may be up to feedlots if they want to hold cattle over or move some even if it means steady to lower prices. Feeder cattle futures fell back hovering near the lows of the range and possibly testing support.