DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/07 19:18

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/07 19:18 Lean Hog Futures Close Week Mostly Higher With the modest exception of spot December and far deferred contracts, lean hog issues closed moderately higher, supported in parts by production threats for 2019 tied to further expansion of ASF. The cattle complex settled narrowly mixed thanks to ongoing cash confusion and uncertainty. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Cash cattle development has been slower than molasses to develop Friday afternoon. Light to moderate dressed deals were reported in parts of the North at $$187, $3 higher than some biz last week. Late live bids in the South were posted as high as $118-$119, but as of this writing, we can't confirm much trade volume. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.48 higher compared with the Prior Day settlement ($43-$48.52, weighted average $47.89). March corn closed up nearly 3 cents. Much of this week's firmer tone was supported by suggestions that China may be getting close to making large U.S. ag purchases. The stock market ended a tough week with another ugly close: the Dow settled off by as much as 474 points, and the Nasdaq lost 219 points on news of a weaker-than-expected jobs report (only 155,000 position added in November), and China-U.S. trade tensions didn't help calm nervous psychology.