Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-10
LIVE STOCK PRICES
GAIN DURING WEEK
Cattle Market Advances
Sharply as Better De-
mand Is Noted.
BY FRANK L. WELLER.
Associated Press Farm Editor.

The market looks good for cattle, due
to the Improvement in the dresseQ
trade, which promises to continue for
a week or so, and an unexplainablV
strong undertone seems to support the
hog and lamb market.
Fat cattle is giving much better ac-
count Of itself and prices have advanced
all along the line. Naturally, most IL
the upturn has developed on the kind
of steers and yearlings which were
Scarcest-the strictly good and choice
offerings which everybody wanted. Such
kinds have advanced fully so cents and
in instances as much as rs cents or
more. All steers and yearlings eligible
to $40 and better last week are bringing
at least SO cents more per hundred
weight.
This upturn developed in the face Of
more cattle than arrived week earlier,
the only logical explanation of the up
turn being that the dressed market re-
fleets much stronger undertone.
Killers at Chicago and shippers come
peted more freely this week.
Demand for YearIings.
All interests seem to want yearlings.
and the better they are the better they
sell. Since there have been very few
highly finished light cattle on the mar
kets, particularly at Chicago, the trade
has had to wade into a rather generous
run of mixed steers and yearling heiferS
similar TO the kinds that have been
dragging along for several weeks.
In addition to the improvement In
the dressed trade there was the stimu-
lating influence of 10 per cent de7
crease in numbers this week compared
with year ago. This suggests that II
cattle are loaded conservatively few
steers are going into killer channels
under So.
Buyers become discriminating when
asked prices around SO to $3.50 and
particularly cautious at steers held at
$1,000 and better. Thus, the trade Is
fairly well stabilized on a beef merit
basis. although the relative scarcity Of
finished offerings naturally has the eff
feet of pulling medium weight and
weighty bullocks that are well condj-
toned but not choice out of line when
shipping orders exceed the available
supply Of toppy cattle.
Heavies Scarce.
Heavies are scarce and while a tenn
porary glut would depresS prices, the
shipper market appears broad enough to
absorb the crop If it is spread over Q
sufficiently long period. Not only the
flesh conditions, but the quality of the
weighty steers is an important price
making factor.
Price fluctuations in the hog market
have been narrow and values are only
slightly lower than a week ago. Light
weights finished this week around 10
cents lower than in the previous week,
while weights above 210 pounds were
about steady. Packing sows are in fairly
broad demand, but price changes are
negligible.
Shippers have supported the market
day after day, taking the largest four
day total of the season this week. Mon
days buy of 20,755 pounds at Chicago
almost equaled the largest single days
shipper purchase of 1880.
From the standpoint of prospective
stability, this weeks fat lamb trade
progressed too fast. 1t was only nat
ural that advances measuring upward
to 81 in instances for a seven-day pc
riod during the slightly midweek ses-
sion should be followed by expanded re-
ceiptS.
Many Grades Higher.
The market has been satisfactory to
producers, excepting that by way of fol-
lowing precedent the decline. after q
rise to or near the SO mark, is already
started. Practically all grades of lamb
finished so cents higher this week,
yearlings gaining a similar amount,
with slaughter ewes at IS cents.
The country Is showing more inter-
est for the replacement cattle. Open
ings are scarcer, with killers compet-
ing for everything carrying flesh.
Stocker and feeder prices have worked
IS cents higher
The supply of thin range lamb suit
able for country outlet is showing some
extension, but killer competition has cut
in on the trade and left quotations
largely on nominal basis.