DTN Closing Livestock Comment 05/30 15:48

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 05/30 15:48 Live Cattle Futures Surge to Limit Gains Aggressive buyer support flooded the livestock complex with triple-digit gains seen in all nearby contracts. June and August Live cattle futures closed higher with $3 per cwt gains. This will create expanded trading limits in live cattle markets Thursday. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Cash cattle activity remains sluggish midweek with just a few token bids developing in the North on a dressed basis. Any bids seen through the day Wednesday are listed at $175 per cwt, which is well below asking prices of $184 to $185 per cwt. Bids are undeveloped in the South, although asking prices at this point are seen at $115 and higher. It is expected that with the limit gains seen Wednesday in futures trade, asking prices will increase significantly through the next couple of days. The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction Wednesday listed a total of 449 head, with 225 actually sold with a weighted average of $110.00, 224 head listed as unsold, and zero head listed as PO (Passed Offer). All cattle this week were from Kansas and are set for 1 to 9 day delivery. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $1.12 higher compared with the Prior Day settlement ($59.00 to $68.50) weighted average $66.80. The corn futures are lower in light activity. July futures were 6 1/2 cents lower Wednesday. The Dow Jones Index is 349 points higher with the Nasdaq up 75 points.