DTN Before The Bell-Livestock

GENERAL COMMENTS

Cattle country is as quiet this morning as a wet sack of fireworks. There may be some assessment of new showlists, buyers may not be back in full force until Wednesday. Our guess is that the early week offering will be eventually deemed to be somewhat larger than last week. Cash hog bids have started out this morning near steady. Corn futures are 8 cents plus higher this morning, supported by follow-through buying and spillover bullishness from the bean market. The stock market seems to be launching the second half of the year with bullish enthusiasm. The Dow is currently 159 points higher with the Nasdaq up 23.

LIVE CATTLE:

Live contracts are moderately lower through the first hour of trading. Selling in light volume seems tied to worries about the awkward combination of rising slaughter numbers and the undependable nature of midsummer beef demand. Open interest on Friday decreased by 2,974 (378,184). New spot August liquidated by 5,956 (158,185) and October jumped 2,022 (114,391). DTN projected slaughter for today is 114,000 head.

FEEDER CATTLE:

Feeder contracts are sharply lower through the early going, checked partly by profit taking on one hand and higher corn prices on the other. Open interest on Friday increased by 1,161 (57,300). CME cash feeder index for 06/29: 149.23, up 0.53.

LEAN HOGS:

Lean hog futures are moderately higher in the early rounds, supported by follow-through buying and positive fundamentals.

Generally speaking, nearbys continue to outshine deferreds with many concerned about the market's ability to handle record tonnage through the last third of the year. Open interest on Friday increased by 3,916 (264,411). Spot July liquidated by 1,735 (17,860) and August jumped by 933 (91,437). Cash lean index 06/29: 91.72, up .06. DTN projected slaughter for today is 380,000 head.

John A. Harrington can be reached at john.harrington@dtn.com

(SK)

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