At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle ended the day higher ahead of widespread direct business. February live cattle closed $.97 higher at $116.45 and April live cattle closed $1.30 higher at $123.75. March feeder cattle closed $.97 higher at $139.50 and April feeder cattle closed $.85 higher at $142.67.
Direct cash cattle trade activity picked up on Thursday. A light trade was reported in Nebraska at $178 to $180 dressed, steady to mostly $2 higher than last week’s weighted averages and there were also a handful of deals reported in Iowa at $114 live.
