Cattle Futures - Live Cattle Climbs
US - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle ended higher on short covering, buy stops and fund buying after nearby-February cleared first-level moving average resistance.Feeder cattle settled up sharply and lean hogs closed higher, while pork bellies finished weak.
Beef futures began the session mostly firm on warmed-over buying and December and February's oversold Relative Strength Index conditions.
Meanwhile, cautious potential spot-month bulls hugged the sidelines because of initial cash trepidation and nervousness before Friday's federal government monthly cattle numbers.
Nearby-February, however, made modest headway due to spreading into the contract out of December and April. February picked up momentum after it bested Monday's 95.90-cent top and later punched through 10-day moving average resistance.
December futures followed February's lead despite mixed midday boxed beef quotes and the possibility of deliveries. What's more, a few longs purged some of their December positions as the contract readies for expiration on Dec. 31.
Source: FXSTREET