DTN Closing Livestock Comment 05/23 15:31

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 05/23 15:31 Strong Gains Develop Wednesday Triple-digit gains were seen in cattle and hog futures Wednesday. This helped draw additional buyer support back into the market early in the session. This support continues to hold as trade volume slowed through the end of the session. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Cash cattle activity remains quiet with limited interest developing in most areas. A few bids have started to develop in the North at $108 live basis and $175 dressed basis. This is well below asking prices of $115 and higher in the South, and $182 to $185 in the North. Active trade may be delayed until late in the week. The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction Wednesday listed a total of 225 head (only two lots set for 1 to 9 day delivery for Kansas, no other states had cattle listed), with zero actually sold, 225 head listed as unsold, and zero head listed as PO (Passed Offer). According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.04 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($58.00 to $65.16) weighted average $64.73. The corn futures are higher in light activity. July futures were 3 cents higher Wednesday. The Dow Jones Index is 12 points lower with the Nasdaq up 31 points.