Live and feeder futures closed sharply higher, boosted by aggressive short-covering and spec-buying. On the other hand, lean hog contracts settled sharply lower, checked by profit-taking and defensive fundamentals.
GENERAL COMMENTS
Buyers and sellers barely moved a muscle through the day, at least nothing suggestive of serious trade potential. We did see a small handful of lower bids around $102 in the South and $163 in the North. But higher futures clearly encouraged feedlot managers to dig in their heels with stronger asking prices. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $0.83 lower ($55-$61, weighted average $59.93).
The corn market stumbled a nickel plus lower, pressured by ideas of growing harvest potential. The stock market closed mixed with the Dow off 22 points and the Nasdaq up 4.
