DTN Before The Bell-Livestock

GENERAL COMMENTS

Light-to-moderate pressure is seen in cattle and hog trade early Monday morning. Traders are focusing on end-of-the-month positioning in most contracts. Corn prices are higher in light trade. Stock markets are higher, Dow Jones is 168 points higher while Nasdaq is up 48 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

Open: Mixed. Front-month April futures are holding a firm 50-cent gain, while the rest of the complex remains moderately lower with losses of 40 to 60 cents per cwt. There is some growing uncertainty that the strong gains seen Friday will keep traders active and optimistic through the end of the month. Cash cattle interest is sluggish following light-to-moderate trade on Friday. The ability to push prices $2 to $4 per cwt higher at the end of the week will keep feeders aggressive. Showlist distribution and inventory-taking is likely to be the main focus through the day. Open interest Friday added 1,683 positions (349,678). Spot month April contracts lost 1,060 positions (1,325) and June contracts fell 824 positions (147,366). DTN projected slaughter for Monday is 118,000 head.

FEEDER CATTLE:

Open: 20 to 50 cents lower. Sluggish market interest is seen through the complex Monday morning. Early trade is seen 20 to 60 cents per cwt lower. There is some uncertainty given the buyer support in grain trade early Monday as traders continue to focus on increased market shifts at the end of the month. Cash index for 4/25 is listed at $139.49 up $1.28. Open interest Friday fell 88 positions (47,932).

LEAN HOGS:

Open: Steady to 50 cents lower. Light pressure is seen early Monday morning with very little additional direction seen in the complex. The continued pressure seen last week is causing traders to take a more cautious approach as they look for a sense of stability in cash trade during late-April trade. Open interest Friday added 3,083 positions (250,240). Spot month May fell 55 positions (3,241) and June added 1,814 positions (96,950). Cash lean index for 4/25 is $61.23, up $0.79. DTN projected slaughter for Monday is expected to be 465,000 head.

Rick Kment can be reached at rick.kment@dtn.com

(SK)

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