DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/14 16:20
14 Dec 2017
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/14 16:20 Cattle Futures Close Generally Higher For the most part, the cattle complex settled moderately higher, supported by short covering and pre-cash positioning. Lean hog contracts closed on a mixed basis with nearbys gaining on deferreds. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Between half-hearted packer bids and sketchy asking prices, the cash cattle traded remained grounded throughout the day. Some showlists seemed to be priced around $119-to-$120 in the South and $190+ in the North. Scattered bids stayed safely below these price levels by $3-to-$5. According to the closing report, the national hog base is .38 lower ($50.00-to-$58.82, weighted average $56.61). Corn futures finished fractionally lower, thanks to lackluster and a dearth of positive news. The stock market closed lower with the Dow off 76 points and the Nasdaq down by 19.