DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/24 15:44
24 Dec 2015
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/24 15:44 Livestock Futures Close Short Session With Impressive Progress The cattle complex settled significantly higher, though live issues outperformed their feeder counterparts. Relieved that the quarterly inventory contained no bearish surprise, lean hog futures closed significantly higher thanks to short covering and pre-holiday positioning. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: The cash cattle trade was lightly tested with just a little clean-up deals at $200, steady with Wednesday but $16 higher than last week's weighted average basis Nebraska. According to the closing report, the Iowa hog base is $0.48 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($48.25-$49.00, weighted average $48.70). Corn futures lost about a penny, pressured by slumping beans and a general lack of constructive news. The Dow closed 50 points lower with the Nasdaq up 2.