Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-30
LIVE STOCK PRICES
| REMAIN UNSTEADY
Advance on Heavy Cattle to
$13 Believed Top for
Season.
BY FRANK /. WELLER,
Associated Press Farm Editor.

Apprehension stalks the cattle mar
ket Some very reliable sources say the
competitive kick which sent toppy
steers sky high, compared to the rest of
the run, seems to be at a standstill.
They predict the advance on heavy
cattle has been stopped at $13, the new
high for the season, and that from now
on the trend will be lower.
The light kinds have been subjected
to pressure, as if to indicate that
Eastern shippers are starting to combat
the relatively high prices the few loads
Of finished cattle have been bringing.
If so, there may be a different story
from now on for stock recently selling
at Sill upward
These conditions obtain principally ut
Chicago, where prices are so out of line
that a few head of prime heavy steers
sold at $3.50, while the bottom of the
run brought as low as $4.25. There the
price spread has been so wide and the
trade so uneven that neither buyers
nor sellers had any accurate idea Of
the market.
Middle Grades.
A narrowing of the range of pulling
down the upper crust would take q lot
of mystery out of the market. No one
is able to tell under existing circum-
stances what middle grades Of cattle
are worth.
With the top at $13 very good Of
ferings sold at $11.50 to $12 and good
kinds of comparable weight at $40. The
apparent difference between the sew
eral lots was much smaller than the
prices suggested. Fat Shortfeds sold at
So to SO and still fat but plain-qualitied
offerings brought only Sc to $3.50. Since
the weight of these cattle does not vary
NJ Ill faA IA
rather far apart in quality, it is next
to impossible for statesmen to price
cattle anywhere near the figure for
which they eventually sell or for buyers
to start bidding promptly on the early
rounds because of relatively high ask
ing prices
The average cost of fed steers and
yearlings for the week was approx
mately $3.50 at Chicago, which was
$3.50 under the extreme top of the
market and about $3.50 above the ex-
IRENE low. Never before has such a
condition existed in the market.
Chicago's hog market weakened on a
slow trade late last week but buyers
began to perk up after the initial ses-
Sions this week, with the result that
closing prices we're steady to 10 cents
lower than week ago after dropping
to new low for the season. Antici-
pated improvement in the fresh pork
trade due to the cold snap was the
main stimulating factor in the live
trade.
Shipper Requirements.
Shipper requirements were more ex-
tensive than a week ago. part of the
normal Thursday demand being moved
up to Wednesday in view of the
Thanksgiving holiday. Around 10000
head went on shipper account at Chi
cago compared with only $4,000 week
earlier. Pre-holiday receipts were light
and with shippers in need of numbers
the market became very active. The
supply continued to run literally to
190-250 pound weights, with heavier
kinds still quite scarce. There was a
fairly large quota of pigs, but light
lights were in limited number.
The lowest top Of the week, $4.45,
paid on Tuesday, was the lowest top
since December, 1908.
Seasonal demands for Thanksgiving
turkeys did not stop the Chicago fat
lamb market from staging a rather
spectacular upturn. During the first
three days of the week values jumped
mostly so cents, choice heavy lambs
usually showing much greater gains.
Such kinds were neglected last week,
on the low time having to sell at $3.50
down, while now their market value
has been enhanced an even dollar in
instances. Packers were forced to dis
regard weight in order to get finish
because of scarcity