DTN Early Word Livestock Comments      11/05 06:21
   Uncertainty May Dominate Trade

   Cattle traders are going to struggle with the uncertainty of the market. Any
news from the government pertaining to cattle will create substantial
volatility. Hogs continue to see pressure as stability in cash and cutouts
remains elusive.

Robin Schmahl
DTN Contributing Analyst

   Cattle: Steady           Futures: Mixed      Live Equiv: $274.36 -$0.55*

   Hogs: Lower              Futures: Mixed     Lean Equiv: $105.41 -$2.48*

   *Based on the formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer
revenue. (The Live Cattle Equiv. The 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 traders are becoming weary of anything that comes out of the
government. There was a rumor President Trump remains focused on reopening the
Mexican border to allow the importation of feeder cattle. This was enough to
trigger the kneejerk reaction selling on Tuesday. Whether this is true or not,
it was sufficient to impact the market. The more often something such as this
takes place, the more difficult it will become for prices to resume the
uptrend, even though cattle supplies remain tight and beef is in demand. Boxed
beef prices closed mixed, with choice down $1.67 and select up $1.32. There had
been support developing for steady to higher cash trade this week, but that may
be difficult to materialize and feedlots may be willing to move cattle rather
than take a chance on the impact of further government attempts to lower beef
prices.