DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/24 16:51
24 Mar 2016
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/24 16:51 Hog Futures Sell Off in Anticipation of New H-P Numbers The lean hog market closed significantly lower for the most part as traders positioned before Friday's release of the March 1 inventory. On the other hand, the cattle complex settled most higher, thanks to pre-holiday short covering and profit taking. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Light-to-moderate trade volume surfaced in parts of cattle feeding country. Live sales in the South were marked at $136, $3 lower than last week. Dressed business in part of the North were called $4-$5 lower at mostly $218. According to the closing report, the Iowa hog base is $0.51 higher compared with the Prior Day settlement ($55.00-63.50, weighted average $62.20). The corn trade closed a penny-plus higher, modestly helped by news from USDA that Taiwan bought 10.2 million bushels. U.S. stocks closed modestly higher as oil prices recovered from session lows and the dollar index gave back some gains. The Dow settled 13 points higher with the Nasdaq better by 4.