Commodities : Livestock Futures Prices Up

Livestock futures prices advanced on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, reflecting what analysts said were improvements in the cash markets.

On other markets, oil futures rallied while grain and soybeans were mostly lower.

“Cattle (futures) were strong for the second day in a row, most importantly because of active feedlot sales,” said Philip Stanley, an analyst in Chicago with Thomson McKinnon Securities Inc.

“Cash prices were steady to higher, which helped to discourage the notion that cattle are backed up in the feedlots,” he said.

Carcass beef prices also were better and moderate boxed beef movement at higher prices on Monday may be signaling a post-holiday pickup in retail demand, traders said.

On the other hand, a major winter storm in the West that helped rally prices on Monday veered farther north than expected and spared some major cattle regions of the Southwest.

Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange erased losses registered in the previous session, closing moderately to sharply higher.

The February contract settled at $18.22 a barrel, up 27 cents from yesterday, trading between $17.88 and $10.23.