DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/01 16:30

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/01 16:30 Cattle Futures Close Mostly Higher Thanks to Late Short-Covering After the conclusion of a choppy trading session, cattle futures closed mostly higher with live issues outperforming their feeder counterparts. With the exception of spot Feb, lean hog contracts settled moderately higher, supported by constructive fundamentals. By John Harrington DTN Senior Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: As usual, activity in cattle feeding country on Monday was limited to the distribution of new showlists. The early month offering appears to be mixed, larger in Texas and Colorado but smaller in Kansas and Nebraska. The severity of the pending winter storm could work to change the practical offering over the next several days. A few ready steers and heifers have been initially priced around $140-$142. According to the closing report, the Iowa hog base is $1.26 higher compared with the Prior Day settlement ($52.00-$62.00, weighted average $61.75). Corn futures finished modestly lower, tied to slow global growth and a general lack of buying interest. U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed, despite declines in oil prices and soft China manufacturing data. The Dow closed 17 points lower with the Nasdaq up 6.