DTN Before The Bell-Livestock
Meat Futures Ease into Thursday Business with Mixed Prices
Given yesterday's fairly active trade volume, the cash cattle just might be essentially done for the week. Yet we could see another light round or two of clean-up business. The balance of showlists seems to be priced around $116 in the South and $185-186 in the North. Hog buyers are out this morning with bids ranging from steady to $1 lower. Corn futures are fractionally higher in a slow trade as players anxious await WASDE news due out later this morning. Wall Street is lower in the early rounds with the Dow off 125 points and the Nasdaq down by 75.
LIVE CATTLE:
Live issues are trying to shake off yesterday's crash this morning. Cuurently, prices range from 20 higher to 57 lower thanks to a slow combination of residual selling and short covering.
P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
Open interest on Wednesday decreased by 6,715 (319,639). Spot August liquidated by 3,515 (13,426) and October lost 3,378 (166,210). DTN projected slaughter for today is 118,000 head.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Feeder futures are moderately lower through the initial hour of trading, pressured by follow-through selling and ling liquidation. Given the $8 plus spread between spot August and the cash index, either the board is way too cheap or auction barn business is way too pricey. It's quite possible that a major surprise in corn estimates this morning could work to shake the rafters here. Open interest on Wednesday decreased by 1,276 (59,735). CME cash feeder index for 08/08: 149.48, up .11.
LEAN HOGS:
Lean contracts are narrowly mixed this morning, ranging from 32 higher to 25 lower. Traders seem apathetic, perhaps waiting for more direction in terms of cash and/or product news. Open interest on Wednesday increased by 3,653 (267,689). Spot August liquidated by 905 (13,992) and October grew by 1,122 (119,142). Cash lean index 08/08: 85.62, off 0.14. DTN projected slaughter for today is 445,000 head. The Saturday kill could be as large as 131,000 head.
John A. Harrington can be reached at john.harrington@dtn.com
(SK)
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