DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/13 15:06

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/13 15:06 Live Cattle Explore Fresh Contract Highs Livestock futures markets were confidently higher Tuesday alongside bullish gains in most other outside markets. November inflation data came in better than expected, and the meat counters may be expecting enthusiastic holiday shoppers. Elaine Kub Contributing Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Mild gains in live cattle futures Tuesday were enough to boost several nearby contracts to fresh contract highs. The daily gains were larger for feeder cattle and lean hogs, but since these merely corrected previous losses, there is less impact on their charts. In the cash cattle market, no significant trade volume is expected until Wednesday or Thursday, but some asking prices are around $157 to $158 in the South which, if met, would be about $2 higher than last week's business. The National Direct Afternoon Hog Report showed purchased swine prices down $0.20 to a weighted average of $81.48 on 12,322 head. Prices ranged from $74 to $85, and the five-day rolling average is now $83.22. March corn moved down 1/2 cent to $6.53 1/2 per bushel and January soybean meal closed up $2.10 per ton to $452.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100 points and the NASDAQ was up 127 points.