Commodities : Thursday, Sept. 3, 1987 : Live Cattle Futures Higher

Live cattle futures rose sharply on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Thursday, surprising observers by posting contract highs in most deliveries.

On other markets, Treasury bond futures ended mixed after a volatile day; soybeans advanced while grains fell; precious metals and oil were lower.

Live cattle futures were mixed throughout much of the session, but a unexpectedly firm cash market helped lift them in the afternoon, said Charlie Richardson, an analyst in Denver with Lind-Waldock.

“I think most people had expected it to be slightly softer as we approached the weekend,” he said. “Instead, (the cash market) was steady to a dollar higher at noon, and that encouraged additional buying.”

The advances triggered buy-stops, powering the October contract up to a high of 66.85 cents a pound before it settled at 66.82, nearly a half-cent above the previous high.

The increase was surprising because packers were large buyers last week, but were only moderately active this week, Richardson said.