DTN Early Word Livestock Comments      04/20 06:17
   Cattle Futures May Rebound

   Cattle futures had little going for them on Friday. Traders were looking
ahead to the Cattle on Feed report and positioning for it. The cash cattle
trade was basically steady with the previous week. Hog futures closed lower as
plentiful hogs keep packers less aggressive.

Robin Schmahl
DTN Contributing Analyst

   Cattle: Steady         Futures: Higher     Live Equiv:   $281.71 -$0.65*

   Hogs: Lower            Futures: Higher    Lean Equiv:   $105.44 +$2.52**

   *Based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue.
(The Live Cattle Equiv. Index has been updated to depict recent changes in live
cattle weights and grading percentages.)

   ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue.

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Cattle futures showed some surprising weakness, falling significantly for 15
minutes around midmorning for no apparent reason other than sell stops being
triggered. Futures regained most of those losses as the day progressed. The
Cattle on Feed report was neutral to slightly friendly. On feed as of April 1
was 99.5% of a year ago. Placements were at 92.7% compared to March 2025. Both
the on-feed and placement numbers were below the average trade estimates.
Marketings were 94.5% and slightly above the average trade estimate. Cattle
futures moved lower ahead of the report but may regain some of the losses
Monday. The cash cattle trade was basically unchanged from the previous week.
Early estimates are for steady to slightly lower cash trade this week. Boxed
beef prices were lower, with choice down $0.51 and select down $1.88. The
Commitments of Traders report showed the fund traders added 3,424 long futures
contracts in live cattle, moving their net-long position to 132,839. They added
836 long positions to feeder cattle, bringing their net-long position to 21,951
contracts.