DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/20 16:24

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/20 16:24 Feeder Paper Recovers Through Session Thanks in Part to Drooping Corn Prices The cattle complex settled higher ahead of on-feed news with feeders outrunning their live counterparts. On the other hand, lean hog issues closed narrowly mixed as traders positioned ahead of the Dec. 1 quarterly inventory. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Feedlot country was not tested in terms of cash trading Thursday with packer bids pretty much few and far between. A small handful of dressed steers were reported in parts of the North at $190. For the most part, asking prices remained firm at $120-$122 on a live basis. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.83 lower compared with the Prior Day settlement ($40-$46.49, weighted average $44.68). March corn sank 6 1/2 cents, checked by noncommercial liquidation despite aggressive buying of corn from Mexico. Export sales and shipments of corn totaled 77.7 million and 38.4 million bushels last week, a new marketing-year high for sales, thanks to large purchases from Mexico. In another bearish reaction to higher interest rates, the Dow crashed by 464 points and the Nasdaq lost 108.