USA: Cattle futures mixed to end the week

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were mixed waiting for direct business to develop. April live cattle closed $.15 higher at $186.72 and June live cattle closed $.25 higher at $183.97. March feeder cattle closed $.30 higher at $247.15 and April feeder cattle closed $.15 lower at $251.77. It took all week for direct cash cattle trade to develop, but it was worth the wait. A light round of business developed late in the day Friday. Live deals in the South were at $182, $4 higher than the previous week’s weighted averages. There were also a handful of live deals reported in Iowa Thursday at $176 to $179. At the Mobridge Livestock Exchange in South Dakota, the USDA says there was good demand for the day’s large offerings. The best demand was for cattle suitable for grass or backgrounding. Most of the offering was home-raised, vaccinated, and long-time weaned. Flesh varied from light to moderate plus, and quality ranged from plain to attractive. The ...