DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/31 15:24
   Cattle Futures End March Higher

   Aggressive buying flooded the cattle complex Tuesday afternoon as traders
close out the month of March and first quarter. Lean hog futures eased on ample
supply expectations.

Rick Kment
DTN Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Cattle futures surged higher Tuesday afternoon following aggressive
end-of-the-month and end-of-the-quarter moving into both live cattle and feeder
cattle contracts, as well as sharp gains in financial markets. Feeder cattle
futures led the market higher with gains of more than $5 per cwt in nearby
contracts, while live cattle contracts traded higher all day, but surged to $3
per cwt gains at the closing bell. The underlying support in beef market
fundamentals has caught the eye of technical traders following a rebound in
outside and financial markets. At this point, traders are less concerned about
active gains in oil and gasoline prices, especially when it comes to the
already tight beef markets. Lean hog futures closed lower as limited buying
developed due to ample pork supplies available to the market, as well as ready
access to market-ready hogs by packers through the end of March. Hog prices
closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon hog report, down $0.34 with a
weighted average of $90.58 on 5,584 hogs. May corn closed up 2 at $4.578 and
May soybean meal closed up $1.50 at $316.4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is
up 1,125.37 at 46,341.51.