DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 09/05 06:19

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 09/05 06:19 Limited Activity Expected During Early Trade Mixed market activity late Wednesday is setting up additional uncertainty as traders move into late week trade. The rangebound market shifts in cattle trade continues to limit overall direction through early September. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst Cattle: Lower Futures: Mixed Live Equiv: $149.02 -0.68* Hogs: Lower Futures: Mixed Lean Equiv: $ 77.66 -1.74** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Packer interest is expected to remain sluggish early Thursday morning, but overall activity will likely improve as the day goes along. Even though more packer bids are expected to be available, this has the potential to put even more pressure on the entire cash market. A few cash deals took place Wednesday in Nebraska with trade mostly at $167 per cwt dressed basis. This is generally $4 per cwt lower than last week's levels. Given the holiday Monday and overall lower expected procurement levels, packers are not expected to need to fill significant order levels given that overall trade the last three weeks has remained limited. This is causing an additional backlog through the market with estimated market-ready cattle still growing through the next couple of months. The announcement by Tyson's CEO Noel White, Wednesday that the Holcomb plant will likely be back online by January gives a sense of direction to the industry. The fact that a projected date was given was a good sign as it helped lessen the uncertainty. White also stated that some processing has already resumed in unaffected portions of the plant. Although this is not expected to create significant short-term market impact, it is likely to help to rebuild buyer confidence through early 2020 contracts and add a sense of stability to the market. Futures trade is expected to remain mixed Thursday morning as traders assess potential pressure in cash trade while showing limited short-term direction in spot month contracts.