DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 09/03 05:25 Beef, Pork Futures Set for Mixed, Lackluster Opening Meat contracts are expected to start out mixed in slow volume as traders position before the Labor Day weekend. Early business should be a limited combination of spillover buying interest and pre-holiday profit-taking. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst Cattle: Cash Steady/slow w/Wed Futures Mixed Live Equiv $111.88 + .07* Hogs: Cash Steady-.50 HR Futures Mixed Lean Equiv $98.50 +1.65** * new formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** new formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: For the second consecutive week, cattle market watchers have witnessed an odd combination of light trade volume on one hand and aggressive chain speed on the other. Clearly, packers have been drawing from more than negotiated sales in order to fund ambitious beef production. That may be a bit of a puzzle, but wherever the cattle are coming from, such an aggressive harvest is certainly positive in terms of promoting feedlot currentness and country leverage. The cash trade is probably done for the week, though we could see a few odds and ends if producers with unsold cattle are willing to sell at midweek prices. But late-week asking price should be a touch firmer in the wake of Thursday's rally in futures. If asked, feedlot managers will probably price the balance of showlists around $99-plus in the South and $155-plus in the North. Cattle futures should open on a mixed basis thanks to a slow combination of residual buying and late-week profit-taking.
