Chicago Mercantile Exchange live- and feeder-cattle futures prices closed sharply higher yesterday, following a favorable ruling·
Wednesday by a federal court in Billings, Mont., on an injunction request to bar Canadian live cattle from entering the U.S.

Canadian live cattle younger than 30 months old were scheduled to be allowed into the U.S. starting Monday. A ban on Canadian cattle began after that country found a case of mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, in May 2003.
Cattle for April delivery rose 1.9 cents a pound to 88.70 cents.
"It's having a domino effect," said James Brooks, CME floor broker with RJ O'Brien, a futures brokerage firm. "Beefpackers are having to pay higher prices for live cattle, and retailers will rush to book beef supplies for after Easter."
After futures markets closed, cattle traded yesterday afternoon in the Texas Panhandle and Kansas at mostly $90 per hundredweight. Those sales were generally $3 above the bulk of last week's values.
Also, the U.S. Senate approved legislation that would stop the Agriculture Department from lifting its ban on Canadian live cattle. The White House said President Bush would veto the measure.
In other commodity markets:
CRUDE OIL: Futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose, with the nearby April contract at one point trading above $55 a barrel, before backing off the high by the close of trading. Traders said worries about the global supply-and-demand balance for crude oil in 2005 led to strong buying interest. Crude oil for April delivery rose 52 cents a barrel to $53.57.
PULP FUTURES: The New York Board of Trade plans to launch a pulp-futures contract today, followed by options on Monday. Pulp is a mechanically or chemically produced fiber, used for paper, boards and engineered wood products. This is the first futures contract since the Pulpex market in London closed in late 2003. The contract calls for delivery of northern bleached softwood kraft pulp in 20 air-dried tons.