DTN Before The Bell-Livestock

GENERAL COMMENTS

Cattle country remains slow this morning with just a few scattered bids noted att $105 live in part of the South and $172 dressed in part of the North. We understand a few showlists have been priced around $110 plus in thr South and $177-178 in the North. Hog buyers have resume work this morning with bids ranging from .75 to $2 lower. However, most of the early buying effort appears to be $1 lower than yesterday's trade. Corn futures are 1-2 cents higher thanks to further short covering ahead of riday reports. The stock market is tradding higher in the early going,, up 74 points on the Dow and 26 better bass the Nasdaq.

LIVE CATTLE:

Live contracts are narrowly mixed so far this morning as traders look for more clues regarding cash potential. Technically, nearby issues have moved back toward the bottom end of a long held lateral trading range. Keep in mind that spot June will go off the board on Friday. Open interest Tuesday increased by 2,173 (327,634). Spot June liquidated by 564 (1,973) and August lost 778 (141,807). DTN projected slaughter for today is 118,000 head.

FEEDER CATTLE:

Feeders are also mixed at this time with traders closely watching action in both live cattle and corn futures. Open interest on Tuesday increased by 411 (46,284). CME cash feeder index for 06/25: 141.75, off .53

LEAN HOGS:

Spot July is somewhat higher in early business, supported by the premium status of the cash index and firming carcass value. Yet most. contracts are mderately lower as longs move to te sideline prior to tomorrow's quarterly inventory. Look for slow, choppy action today as traders position ahead of the June 1 report. Open interest on Tuesday increased by 2,633 (228,481). Spot July liquidated by 1,130 (22,805) and August declined by 173 (76,188). Cash lean index 06/25: 85.63 off .57. DTN projected slaughter for today is 445,000 head. The Saturday kill will once again be minimal, through a bit larger than last week (e.g., 10,000-12,000).

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

(SK)

Copyright 2018 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.