DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/09 16:23
9 Mar 2018
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/09 16:23 Cattle Futures Close Bearish Week With Short-Covering Rally The cattle complex closed mostly higher Friday, though most of the late buying interest was tied to nearby live contracts. Lean hog futures closed moderately lower in light trade volume. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS The cash cattle trade was not tested Friday thanks to sufficient trade volume generated on Thursday. Feedlot sales for the week were basically steady with last week, $126 to $127 live, and $204 to $205 (mostly $204) dressed. The national hog base closed off $1.11 compared with the prior day settlement ($54-$62.58, weighted average $61.38). From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Apr LC up $0.95; Jun LC off $0.10; Mar FC off $1.15; May FC off $1.87; Apr LH up $0.28; May LH off $2.65. Corn futures closed generally 3 cents lower, pressured by double-digit losses in beans and winter wheat. The stock market closed significantly higher thanks to the bullish February jobs report. The Dow was 440 points higher with the Nasdaq advancing by 152.