DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/01 15:22
1 Feb 2018
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/01 15:22 Cattle Bulls Wake From Early Week Slumber and Roar Higher Live and feeder futures exploded higher Thursday, closing at the highest price levels since last November. Lean hog contracts settled solidly higher, led by spot February racing to catch the firming cash trade. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS The cash cattle trade was generally slow with just a few clean-up deals reported in parts of the North (i.e., $126/$200). Asking prices for unsold steers and heifers clearly firmed through the day in light of the board's bullish performance. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $1.26 higher ($64-$73.55, weighted average $71.82). Corn futures closed fractionally higher as more positive export biz helped traders ignore selling pressure in the bean market. The stock market closed mixed with the Dow up 37 points and the Nasdaq off 25.