Direct cash cattle trade remains quiet.  Bids are elusive and slow to surface.  Asking prices are around $186 to $187 live in the South, while the North remains quiet. Significant trade volume could hold out until sometime Thursday or Friday.

Boxed beef is lower at midday on light demand for solid offerings.  Choice is $1.79 lower at $296.70 and Select was $3.46 lower at $288.88.  The Choice/Select spread is $7.82.

At the Ozarks Regional Stockyards in Missouri, steers under 700 pounds were $2 to $10 higher with spots of up to $15 higher. 

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