DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/06 16:32

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 12/06 16:32 Lack of Thursday Buying Interest Leaves Meat Futures Struggling The cattle complex closed lower, deprived of any inspirational cash activity. Feeder issues fell harder than their live counterparts. Lean hog contracts also settled in the red with traders nervous about the sustaining strength of late year fundamentals. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Besides a token number of dressed sales in Iowa at $183, the cash cattle market remained at a standstill. For example, Southern feedlot managers easily rejected bids of $112 to $114, holding firm for asking prices of $120 or better. According to the closing report, the national hog base is $.01 higher compared with the prior day settlement ($44.00 to $48.52, weighted average $47.52). The corn trade closed a penny-plus lower, but well above lows of the day, likely tied to the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, which appeared to cast further doubt that China will follow through with the trade truce promised in the wake of the G-20 summit. The stock market crashed early but rebounded to close no worse than mixed: the Dow settled off 79 points and the Nasdaq finished better by 29.