DTN Closing Livestock Comment 08/03 16:24
3 Aug 2016
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 08/03 16:24 Beef Futures Extend Early August Rally With Impressive Technical Progress The cattle complex settled significantly higher with feeder issues once again landing triple-digit gains. Conversely, lean hog issues closed lower as nearbys lost more ground to deferreds. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: The fed cattle trade didn't move a muscle at midweek, at least not in terms of actual sales. We did see a handful of bids at $114 in the South and $188 in the North, but nothing in the least to tempt feedlot selling interest. Asking prices started the day firm (e.g., $120-$122 in the South, $190-$192 in the North) and only got firmer thanks to improving futures and cut-outs. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.35 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($60.00-$66.25, weighted average $64.69). Corn futures settled a penny or so higher, modestly supported by spec buying and short covering. Equities closed slightly higher in the face of a sharp rebound in oil prices. The Dow settled 41 points higher with the Nasdaq better by 22.