DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 01/13 06:11

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 01/13 06:11 Follow-Through Strength Expected Livestock futures pushed higher Friday with cattle reaching new contract highs. New records continue to unfold with April nearing the $200 level. Hog futures saw strong buying interest as traders seem to feel the low is in and demand will improve. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Higher Futures: Higher Live Equiv: $242.33 +$2.28* Hogs: Steady Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $96.94 +$0.66** *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 futures opened higher Friday, then fell back, but buying interest pushed contracts to new highs. Cash cattle traded $4.00 to $5.00 higher last week with boxed beef continuing to trend higher. Beef demand is exceptionally strong at these prices with choice boxed beef up $2.06 and select up $5.79. USDA showed supportive estimates for cattle prices on the WASDE report with quarterly steer prices from $4.00 to $6.00 higher than their December estimates. Feedlots continue to maintain leverage over packers. This has resulted from packers holding back on purchases in December as they tried to back up cattle and force feedlots to sell cattle rather than add more weight. This backfired as feedlots have been rewarded for heavier cattle as the packers were short-bought. This has resulted in cash trading higher in an impressive way and it may not be over yet.