DTN Closing Livestock Comment 10/06 16:19

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 10/06 16:19 Lean Hog Futures Slump Lower Thanks to Late Week Long-liquidation and Profit-Taking Lean hog futures settled mostly lower with nearbys losing significant ground to deferreds. On the other hand, the cattle complex finished the week with solid progress, supported by short-covering and technical-buying. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Light to moderate trade developed in parts of the South this afternoon with most live sales marked at $109, $1 higher than last week, yet we are still waiting for significant business to develop in the North. Although packer bids have slowly improved through the day, they remain just short of higher asking prices around $110 live and $174 dressed. The National hog base closed off $0.11 compared with the Prior Day settlement ($47.00-$54.50, weighted average $52.03). From Friday to Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: Oct LC up $1.92; Dec LC up $1.67; Oct FC up $1.73; Nov FC up $1.75; Oct LH up $3.77; Dec LH up $0.97. Corn futures closed fractionally higher in lackluster trading. Would-be bulls will be watching the weekend radar, looking for the possibility of more harvest-slowing rain. The stock market closed on a mixed basis with the Dow off 1 point and the NASDAQ up 4.