DTN Closing Livestock Comment 09/16 16:28
   Cattle Struggle to Find Support

   Livestock futures could not uncover solid support Monday. All cattle
contracts closed lower, while lean hog futures closed mixed.

By Robin Schmahl
DTN Analyst



   GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Livestock futures could not uncover solid support Monday. All cattle
contracts closed lower, while lean hog futures closed mixed. Bids and offers
have yet to be established with buyers waiting to see the showlists for the
week. Feedlots may be waiting to see how aggressive buyers need to be before
increasing offerings. Any help from futures for higher bids was a big
disappointment Monday. Mixed prices for boxed beef cutouts provided no support.
Cattle could not even garner any interest in buying from the strength of some
of the outside markets. Hogs showed some strong spreading activity between
October and December with similar trading volume between the two contracts.
According to the National Daily Direct hog afternoon report, the national hog
base is $0.13 higher ($44-$46, weighted average $48.08). Corn futures gained 5
1/4 cents. The Dow Index closed 143 points lower with the NASDAQ down 23 points
lower.