DTN Closing Livestock Comment 05/21 16:37
21 May 2018
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 05/21 16:37 Cattle Paper Explodes Higher, Excited By Suggestion of Greater Chinese Beef Demand The cattle complex launched the last full trading week of May with triple-digit gains. On the other hand, lean hog futures closed moderately lower, pressured in part by uncertainty surrounding China tariffs on U.S. pork currently in place. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS To no one's surprise, the cash cattle trade was not tested in the early rounds with buyers and sellers focusing exclusively on the distribution of new showlists. The late month fed offering looks modestly larger than last week, with only Kansas showing some declining in ready steers and heifers. According to the closing report, the national hog base $.13 lower ($59.00 to $65.16, weighted average $64.76). Corn futures closed fractionally higher, supported by dry Brazilian weather and sharply higher bean prices. Cheered by a potential trade war truce, the stock closed sharply higher with the Dow up 298 points and the Nasdaq in the green by 39.