Evening star., 1933-01-15
LIVE STOCK PRICES
GAIN DURING WEEK
Scarcity of Offerings at Chi
cago Results in Ris-
ing Market.
BY FRANK I. WELLER,
Associated Press Farm Editor,


Cattle were caught up in the slightly
/ rising sheep and hog market this week,
most grades end classes showing the
first substantial gains since holiday
| weakness.
It marked the failure, temporarily
at least, of the buying side to beat
lightweight values back in line with
the low levels consistently forced on
weighty bullocks by excessive supplies
and extremely poor consumer outlet.
Market factors were reversed with a
week ago, grade rather than weight
being the chief influence for the mo-
ment.
Scarcity of Yearlings.
There was an acute scarcity at Chi
cago Of highly finished steer yearlings
scaling under 1000 pounds and COM
paratively few heifers and typically
baby-beef cattle showed up. This led
to furry of buying which advanced
the top on light steers and yearlings
to $7.35. added 25 to so cents to the
price of lower grade light steers and
even gave medium weights and bullocks
10 to IS cent advantage over week
ago.
The premium paid for light cattle
over weighty kinds became more empha
tic than any time this season That
explained why Southwestern-bred "yel-
low hammers" sold at $425. while
thick-fleshed native, but rough, and
heavy fed bullocks had to 60 at $425
to $3.50. Some of these rather thinly
covered light cattle would not make
over 81 to So per cent of beef, whereas
most weighty bullocks would yield So
to SO per cent, but the light cattle
produced carcass more easily mer-
chandised. while the carcasses and cuts
from the big thick steers have been
getting incomplete clearance for 80
days.
Light heifer and mixed yearlings and
the rank and file of butcher heifers
and lightweight young cows claimed
an upturn of so cents to $125. 1t was
more or less a runaway market all
week on light heifers regardless of
grade and some sales were at least s1.50
per hundredweight higher than during
the glut period week earlier. Cutter
COWS advanced fully Is cents and bulls
Is to 25 cents. The bulk Of the corn
belt and Western fed weighty steer crop
sold at 81 rs to SIS. which demonstrates
the narrow plane of farm income from
cattle.
There were only slight fluctuations
in hog prices after the 10 to IS cents
gain at Chicago last week. Compared
with Thursday. a week ago, light
weights were 10 to 90 cents higher,
cents and weighty kinds unchanged.
The top remained at $3.35 per hun
dredweight, which is within IS cents
Of the highest price since late in No
vember. Receipts increased consider
ably, which usually Is the case the sec
ond week in January. Available sup
plies cast some doubt on the stability
of recent gains, considering a top of
$3.10 is still fresh in stockyard memory.
Sheep and Lamb Loadings
Sheep and lamb loadings. although
considerably expanded, are falling short
of arrivals year ago by about 25 per
cent. Lambs with finish predominate
The current weeks run could not be
criticized from a killing standpoint and
while both heavieS and light weights
encountered pressure the general close
was strong to IS cents higher than
week ago Thursday-or about equal to
that Of the previous Friday.
Active buying on local and Eastern
account enabled statesmen to recoup
earlier losses, the trade staging an elev-
enth hour rally on two occasions in the
face of increasing receipts and suggest
ing inherent strength. The East called
for finished lambs. hence Chicago in
terests seized every opportunity to bear
down on in-between grade kinds Daily
tops followed the general trend, dip
ping to S6.25 and finally soaring to
$3.50. Dressed prices still seemed to be
against the advance.