DTN Closing Livestock Comment 08/18 16:42

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 08/18 16:42 At Conclusion of Another Negative Week, Beef Futures Settle With Mixed Prices The cattle complex closed on a mixed basis with deferred contracts generally holding up better than nearbys. Lean hog contracts also finished with mixed results, scrambled by a combination of long-liquidation and late-week profit-taking. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS The cash cattle trade was not tested in the late rounds with buyers and sellers apparently satisfied with trade volume generated on Wednesday and Thursday. Showlists next week are expected to be steady to somewhat larger in size. Feedlot managers will be pricing ready cattle in a way that hopefully works to stabilize the late-summer sell-off. The National hog base closed off $2.06 compared with the Prior Day settlement ($69-$75, weighted average $73.34). From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Aug LC off $3.35; Oct LC off $1.50; Aug FC off $1.27; Sep FC off $2.20; Oct LH off $2.50; Dec LH off $1.15. Corn futures closed about a penny lower, modestly supported by late-week short-covering. The stock market closed lower with the Dow off 76 and the NASDAQ down by 5.