DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/25 16:19

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/25 16:19 Nearby Lean Hog Futures Close Solidly Higher Mid-week short covering and bottom-picking supported nearby lean contracts at the close with spot Dec settling at its highest since Oct. 30. The cattle complex closed moderately higher as traders position ahead of cash news and the holiday break. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Apparently, cattle buyers (or their white-shirted bosses) have decided to momentarily adjourn for turkey on Thursday and the return to work on Friday in search of short-term slaughter needs. Maybe there's still some time to shop late Wednesday afternoon, but it's beginning to look as if most have gone home. We saw nothing more than a few $195 dressed bids in the North Wednesday, well below asking prices of $131-plus in the South and $200-plus in the North. If packers do resurface on Friday, it will be interesting to see how they are received by feedlot managers, especially if weather conditions turn wintry. According to the closing report, the Iowa hog base is $0.01 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($50.00-$52.75, weighted average $51.89). Corn futures settled generally 2-3 cents higher, supported by bean buying and record ethanol production. U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed in the last full trading day of the holiday week. The Dow closed 1 point higher with the Nasdaq better by 13.