US: Cattle and hog futures find support heading into midweek

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle ended the day higher, supported by the recent strength in boxed beef prices, getting ready for the week’s direct business, and Friday’s On Feed numbers from the USDA. April live cattle closed $.45 higher at $165.10 and June live cattle closed $.75 higher at $160.87. March feeder cattle closed $.35 higher at $186.87 and April feeder cattle closed $.35 higher at $190.80. It was another quiet day for direct cash cattle trade activity. Bids didn’t surface. Asking prices were around $164-plus live in the South, while the North was not established. If this week follows the trend of recent weeks, significant trade volume will likely be delayed until sometime Thursday or Friday. Showlists this week are mixed – higher in Texas, somewhat higher in Kansas, but lower in Nebraska and Colorado. There were a handful of deals reported in the North on Monday at $257 dressed and $156 live, but not near enough sales to establish a trend ...