DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/30 15:20

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/30 15:20 Active Buying Takes Feeder Cattle, Lean Hogs Higher Wednesday After falling through the first half of the week, livestock futures contracts joined the rest of the commodity sector in pivoting higher with a reaction to bullish optimism for improved Chinese demand amid easing COVID restrictions. Elaine Kub Contributing Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Triple-digit gains for lean hog futures and feeder cattle futures gained momentum Wednesday afternoon as bullish headline-chasing speculators churned through a strong volume of contracts. Outside markets were the originators of these bullish ideas, with crude oil pivoting higher and trading above $80 per barrel. In the cash cattle market, light trade developed Wednesday in parts of the South at $155, fully steady with last week's weighted averages. Asking prices are around $156 to $158 in the South, but still not established in the North. The National Direct Afternoon Hog Report is delayed Wednesday afternoon, but as a benchmark, the five-day rolling average from the morning report was $84.73. December corn moved down 3 3/4 cents to $6.62 per bushel and December soybean meal closed up $9.20 per ton to $417.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 737.24 points and the NASDAQ was up 526.61 points.