DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/22 16:54
22 Dec 2016
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/22 16:54 Cheered on by Cash Progress, Cattle Futures Close With Solid Gains The cattle complex settled substantially higher, girded by reports of great packer spending in the country and technical buying. On the other hand, lean hog contracts closed narrowly mixed in listless trade volume. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Cattle country turned fairly active Thursday as short-bought packers became aggressive spenders in order to secure the necessary slaughter inventory needed before breaking for Christmas. Dressed sales in the North ranged from $180-$181, $6-$7 greater than last Friday. Live traffic in the South was clocked at $115-$116, $3-$4 faster than the week earlier. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.38 lower ($45.00-$54.00, weighted average $52.25). Nearby corn futures closed unchanged at the conclusion of an extremely quiet session. The Dow closed 24 points lower with the Nasdaq off 23.