DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 01/31 06:20

DTN Early Word Livestock Comments 01/31 06:20 Cattle Inventory Report to be Released Friday Cattle futures came under pressure as liquidation continued for the second day. That may come to an end as cash cattle traded higher on Thursday. Hog futures held their own, even though cash and cutouts did not provide support. Robin Schmahl DTN Contributing Analyst Cattle: Higher Futures: Higher Live Equiv: $240.15 -$2.42* Hogs: Lower Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $98.58 -$0.38** *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 January feeder cattle contract went off the board Thursday at a record high $281.90. However, later contracts suffered losses averaging $2.50. Live cattle showed similar losses with April taking the brunt of it with a loss of $3.45. The fundamentals did not change and even were better from the cash standpoint. Cash traded $6.00 to $7.00 higher in the South and $2.00 higher in the North. This should continue Friday as packers need to finish buying for the week. Packers continue to pull back on slaughter but to no avail. Cattle weights are higher, making up for the lighter slaughter numbers. Boxed beef fell Thursday with choice down $3.06 and select down $4.77. The Cattle Inventory report will be released Friday afternoon, providing an indication of the status of the beef and dairy herds.