Spillover buying and Wednesday's late-session upward momentum pushed up live cattle futures at the start. October and December's oversold chart situations lured speculative buyers. And, nervous shorts covered positions as the board rose, which also drafted speculative fund traders.

Cattle futures made significant strides despite lingering concern about this week's pending fed cattle trade that is dogged by larger showlists and boxed beef's slide.

Isolated packer bids for live-basis cattle on Thursday cropped up at $89 to $90 per hundredweight versus $94 to $95 asking prices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's midday boxed beef wire on Thursday indicated a $1.55 per hundredweight choice cut drop, and select items fell another $0.74.

While pit traders looked to the cash sector for leadership, those on the business end of the cattle industry eyed futures for direction.

More live cattle deliveries against October are expected, which depending on their numbers might tug at the spot month, which is slated for expiration on Oct. 31.

Source: FXSTREET