Live and feeder cattle futures settled narrowly mixed Monday after falling to session lows at midsession, revealing the market's lack of direction early in the week, floor traders and market analysts said. Feeder cattle futures spent the bulk of the session reacting to a volatile Chicago Board of Trade corn market, traders and analysts said. When corn was down, feeders were higher. When corn was up, feeders sagged.

Prices opened higher in response to lower overnight corn values and on followthrough from late-week strength in futures markets as cash prices and beef markets showed signs of strength, traders and analysts said.

Cattle markets Monday continued to seek direction from cash and product markets, but neither was ready to provide such insight to futures traders this early in the week, the analysts and traders said. This left feeder cattle leading the way, but it was led around by a corn market that itself lacked direction.

During the session, ED&F Man bought August and RJ O'Brien sold August. At the same time, speculative traders bought August and sold October, while Lind Waldock sold August and bought October. Local traders bought and sold October.

Source: FXSTREET