Ben DiCostanzo at Walsh Trading Inc. said “August Live Cattle gap opened higher and then broke down, closing the gap while trading down to the low at 217.625. The market reversed and rallied to the high and a new all-time high for the lead contract at 220.05. It consolidated the rest of the session and settled at a new all-time high settlement at 219.25. The early breakdown tested support at 217.75 and the new high tested resistance at R1 at 220.00. Friday’s cash market was on fire as cash traded as high as 244.00 and the 5-area Steer average was a new record at 236.62 for the week. Texas and Kansas took off and traded above 230.00, setting records for their respective regions. Cutouts made a new high on Monday for the year, but the load count was small, indicating some resistance at the new yearly high. Packers have been aggressive in paying up for cattle and now some producers think we may see 250.00 up north sooner rather than later. Packers continue to buy cattle with time which has producers thinking the packer doesn’t believe prices will come down anytime soon. Others say they are loading up and when they are in a situation where they have enough cattle to ignore the producer, they will ratchet prices down to get the average they paid lower. The summer doldrums are nearing, and the holiday buying will slow soon.”