AgHost Livestock Close

Cattle futures surged higher Tuesday afternoon following aggressive end-of-the-month and end-of-the-quarter moving into both live cattle and feeder cattle contracts, as well as sharp gains in financial markets. Feeder cattle futures led the market higher with gains of more than $5 per cwt in nearby contracts, while live cattle contracts traded higher all day, but surged to $3 per cwt gains at the closing bell. The underlying support in beef market fundamentals has caught the eye of technical traders following a rebound in outside and financial markets. At this point, traders are less concerned about active gains in oil and gasoline prices, especially when it comes to the already tight beef markets. Lean hog futures closed lower as limited buying developed due to ample pork supplies available to the market, as well as ready access to market-ready hogs by packers through the end of March. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon hog report, down $0.34 with a weighted average of $90.58 on 5,584 hogs. May corn closed up 2 at $4.578 and May soybean meal closed up $1.50 at $316.4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1,125.37 at 46,341.51.