Grains and Soybeans Mixed

CHICAGO — Grain and soybean futures prices were mixed in light, featureless trading Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Analysts said the recent influence of outside markets, such as those involved in precious metals and foreign currencies, subsided Friday and provided the grain markets with little guidance.

Demand for soybean meal eased somewhat as European livestock feeders appeared to have built their inventories up sufficiently to handle the cold weather there, traders said.

Bob Lekberg, a grain analyst in Chicago with Shearson Lehman/American Express, said the market appeared weakest near the close of the session, when prices declined slightly.

Livestock and meat prices, meanwhile, were mixed in light trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Live hogs were bolstered by reports of steady to higher prices on wholesale markets in Kansas City and Omaha, Stanley said.

Pork bellies were mixed amid suggestions of oversupply, but some buying emerged in response to technical factors such as trends on price charts, Stanley said.

Heating oil futures continued climbing on the New York Mercantile Exchange in response to cold weather in Europe and the Northeast, while crude oil was steady.