DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/17 15:50

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/17 15:50 Livestock Showed Limited Excitement Cattle futures closed mixed with feeders slightly higher and live cattle lower. December live cattle futures traded in a tight range, establishing an inside trading day from Monday. By Robin Schmahl DTN Dairy Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Cattle futures closed mixed with feeders slightly higher and live cattle lower. December live cattle futures traded in a tight range, establishing an inside trading day from Monday. February showed the most pressure closing down $0.95 after two days of futures setting a new contract high of $127.90. It was too early in the week for buyers and sellers to become more aggressive in the cash market. Generally, buyers and sellers are content to wait until later in the week to get serious. However, activity could increase as buyers prepare for the upcoming holidays and the disruption of normal business. The need to purchase earlier might move the need to do business a bit earlier. Asking prices of $122 in the South and $195 in the North did not change. Lean hogs were mixed with February and April lower and later contracts higher. Hogs have not received much buying interest from traders as a result of the phase one trade agreement between U.S. and China; maybe because many of the details have yet to be worked out. February hogs showed the greatest loss of $0.65. Even with the decline, the recent uptrend remains intact. June and later contracts show a chart gap at $2.00 lower that may need to be filled. This will act like a magnet unless these gaps are closed. March corn gained 2 cents, the DOW is 60 points higher with the NASDAQ up 10 points.