DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/30 17:10

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/30 17:10 Feeder Cattle Futures Closed the Month Lower, Pressured by Long Liquidation and Corn Strength The cattle complex settled mixed in the live market and moderately lower in the feeder trade. Lean hog contracts closed with uneven and unexciting settlements thanks to a lackluster combination of long liquidation and short covering. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Cattle buyers and sellers continue to take their own sweet time deciding on the appropriate value of ready steers and heifers. It's late Friday and there's still a wide gulf between many bids ($112 to $183) and asking prices ($119 to $120 to $187-plus). A few pens in the North have been marked at $116 on a live basis. Furthermore, some Southern bids have improved to $117. At this sluggish rate, a good assessment of country movement may not be available until Monday morning. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.50 higher compared with the prior day settlement ($45.00 to $50.74, weighted average $50.03). Nearby corn closed up 4 1/2 cents, partially supported on the final day of November by news that only two delivery intentions were announced for December, a hopeful sign that the market is not eager to let go of corn at these prices. From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Dec LC, off $0.18; Feb LC, off $0.42; Jan FC, off $4.15; Mar FC, off $3.07; Dec LH, off $1.20; Feb LH, off $0.27. Cheered by potential U.S./China trade talk, the stock market closed the month with another bullish punch: the Dow settled 199 points higher and the Nasdaq finished 57 in the green.