DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/24 15:24
24 Nov 2023
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 11/24 15:24 Livestock Futures Go Haywire Friday Sparse post-holiday trading allowed streaky movement in the futures markets for live cattle, feeder cattle and lean hogs Friday morning, ultimately leading to a heavy sell-off through the end of the shortened session. Elaine Kub Contributing Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Streaky losses in thinly-traded markets on the Friday after Thanksgiving triggered surges of technical selling that exacerbated the already downward trends in live cattle, feeder cattle, and lean hog futures prices. For the nearby feeder cattle contract, that meant weekly losses of more than $9 per cwt, and for certain lean hog contracts, it meant an exploration of fresh contract lows. The catastrophic bearishness doesn't necessarily pass through to the physical market just yet. Cash cattle prices for fed steers and heifers were mostly steady to $1 lower than last week, with live trade in the South taking place at $177 and dressed trade at $280.