DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/14 16:19

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/14 16:19 Cattle Futures Push Prices Lower in Late-Afternoon Trade Moderate pressure developed through the live cattle futures market late afternoon Wednesday as triple-digit losses in nearby feeder cattle markets led to additional market pressure. Lean hog futures are mixed in light trade with little to no additional direction developing. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Cash cattle markets started out with trade seen on the Fed Cattle Exchange. Even though prices were higher from last week, the lack of support, given futures market gains early in the week, kept the market tone subdued. The action results posted 7,753 head on The Fed Cattle Exchange Auction, with 3,249 actually sold. The state-by-state breakdown looks like this: KS 435 head at $111.00-$111.50, NE 1,836 head at $110.00-$111.00; TX 647 head, at $110.00-$111.50; CO 0 head; IA 0 head; other states (South Dakota) 197 head at $108.00-$109.00; Mexican 134 head at $110.00. The weighted average was $110.47, up from last week's weighted average of $110.28. Feedlot activity improved slightly, although trade is undeveloped at this point. Bids are seen at $108 in the South. Asking prices are $114 in the South and $177 to $178 in the North. Active feedlot trade is not expected to develop until sometime Thursday or Friday. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.10 higher compared with the Prior Day settlement ($45.50-$54.00, weighted average $53.40).The corn trade settled mostly higher in light trade. The pressure in the expiring December contract led to narrow gains in the rest of the complex. March futures gained 1 cent Wednesday. The Dow Jones Index is 118 points lower with the Nasdaq down 27 points after the Federal Reserve increased rates for the first time in a year.