DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/15 15:46
15 Mar 2019
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/15 15:46 Hogs Close Wild Week With Limit-Up Gains The entire livestock futures sector posted gains Friday, with the most dramatic bullishness coming from the lean hog market's ongoing African swine fever concerns. Hogs were up $3.000 (limit-up). By Elaine Kub DTN Contributing Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Apr LC off $0.58; Jun LC up $0.97; Mar FC off $2.60; Apr FC off $0.77; Apr LH up $8.25; May LH up $8.98. The week's light-to-moderate cash cattle trade developed Wednesday and Thursday with Southern live deals ranging from $126 to $127, generally $1 lower than last week's weighted averages. Northern dressed business ranged from $203 to $205, also $1 lower than last week's weighted averages. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $1.08 higher ($46-$54, weighted average $51.52). That's $6.72 higher than week-ago numbers, so the hog rally is both a futures and cash market phenomenon. Corn futures (and all grain and oilseed contracts) closed higher Friday amid speculative short-covering, with the May contract netting a weekly gain of 18 1/2 cents. The stock market closed modestly higher, up 14 points Friday in the S&P 500 and netting gains of 2.9% for the week.