DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/02 15:20

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/02 15:20 Livestock Futures Close Week with Gains The livestock markets ended the week on a higher note, shaking off the demand anxieties from earlier in the week, but not exploring any fresh highs either. Elaine Kub Contributing Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Feeder cattle futures posted the most impressive gains during Friday's trading session and on a week-over-week basis, but neither this market nor the live cattle nor lean hogs dared to explore any fresh contract highs during a week when global economic uncertainty was emphasized. In the cash cattle market, most of this week's Southern live deals took place at $155, fully steady with last week's weighted averages, but some improvement was noted Friday afternoon with live bids of $158 or $159 in Iowa and Nebraska. Northern dressed deals were marked mostly at $249, $4 higher than last week's weighted averages. The National Direct Afternoon Hog Report showed purchased swine prices down $3.04 to a weighted average of $82.22 on 3,705 head. Prices ranged from $74 to $88, and the five-day rolling average is now $84.95. December corn moved down 15 cents to $6.35 per bushel and January soybean meal closed up $2.50 per ton to $424.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34.80 points and the NASDAQ was down 47.64 points.