DTN Closing Livestock Comment 08/31 16:42

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 08/31 16:42 Cattle Futures Closed Lower Before Holiday Break Live and feeder contracts closed lower on the day, pressured by limited packer buying interest and significantly higher corn prices. Lean hog contracts finished higher with nearbys generally gaining on deferreds. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Moderate trading developed Friday afternoon in parts of the Northern tier of cattle feeding country. Most dressed sales were marked at $170, $2 lower than last week. On a live basis, steers and heifers in Nebraska and Iowa sold at mostly $107, $2 lower than last Friday. On the other hand, the South remains at a standstill. We can only assume that between contracts and formulas, packers in Kansas and Texas have sufficient numbers to get next week's kill started. The National hog base closed off $0.12 compared with the Prior Day settlement ($34 to $38, weighted average $37.57). From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Aug LC up $0.55; Oct LC up $2.07; Sep FC up $1.98; Oct FC up $2.40; Oct LH off $1.35; Dec LH up $2.18. Corn futures closed 8 to 10 cents higher, supported by late-month short-covering and commercial-buying. The stock market closed on a mixed basis with the Dow down 22 points and the Nasdaq up 21 points.