DTN Closing Livestock Comment 04/06 16:57

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 04/06 16:57 Cattle Complex Crashes With Triple-Digit Losses Live and feeder cattle futures closed the week sharply lower, pressured by long liquidation, technical-selling and trade war worries. For the most part, lean hog futures settled moderately lower, checked by lackluster fundamentals and export uncertainty. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Although feedlot managers came into the day with a degree of optimism based upon the board's ability to bounce off early week lows, cattle buyers showed little interest in raising bids expressed on Tuesday. Consequently, trade volume through the day was spotty at best with light volume reported in parts of Nebraska (i.e., 4,367 at $187.27, according to Mandatory). At this point, trade volume totals look little better than moderate, suggesting that a good number of cattle could be carried over into Monday. The National hog base closed up $0.14 compared with the Prior Day settlement ($42-$46, weighted average $45.27). From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Apr LC off $1.53; Jun LC off $0.25; May FC up $1.60; Aug FC up $1.03; Apr LH off $5.13; May LH off $3.35. Nearby corn futures closed about a penny lower with traders perhaps more confused by trade war rhetoric than alarmed by cold early spring conditions. Spooked by another round of tariff threats from the White House, the stock market closed a defensive week with aggressive selling. The Dow finished 572 points lower with the Nasdaq off 161.