With the exception of the spot April contract, CME lean hog futures closed lower along with most other commodities. April lean hogs gained 20 to 93.45, and June hogs fell 170 to 99.35.
Live and feeder cattle futures tumble amid a broad commodity sell-off as large investors and other traders take money out of the cattle complex. April live cattle closed down 135 at $117, May feeders closed off 262 at $132.
US wheat futures sink on profit-taking and spillover selling from other markets. May wheat in Chicago fell 38 3/4 to $7.59, May wheat in KC lost 25 to $8.94 and MGE May wheat dropped 24 to $9.11
US corn futures closed sharply lower on profit-taking and spillover selling from a steep slide in crude oil. May corn fell 23 1/2 to $7.52.
U.S. soybean futures tumbled near 4-week lows, succumbing to a broad-based commodity sell-off, Soy-product futures tumble on widespread selling in commodity markets. May soy ended down 38 3/4 at $13.29, May soy oil closed at 57.24 and May soy meal fell to $342.40.
ICE cotton futures settle sharply lower after Goldman Sachs says it was closing trades in its CCCP basket of commodities. May cotton dropped 485 to $1.99, and the July contract fell 534 to $1.85.
Gold prices were swept lower Tuesday amid a market-wide move to cash-in recent gains. June gold closed at $1,453.60 an ounce, and May silver closed at $40.04, down 54.6 cents.
Crude futures plummeted Tuesday on signals from a chorus of forecasters that elevated oil prices are hurting fuel demand and weighing on the global economy. May crude fell $3.67 to $106.25 a barrel, May gasoline dropped 3.64 cents to $3.16 a gallon, and May distillates fell 7.99 cents $3.17 a gallon.
Natural gas futures edged downward Tuesday on milder spring weather forecasts, a day after bouncing off of the $4 price level. May Natural gas dropped 1 cent to $4.09.
The blue chips sustained triple-digit losses, although pulled off of session lows, as concerns over Japan's nuclear crisis and disappointing sales results from Alcoa weighed on stocks. The Dow lost 117 to close at 12,263, the Nasdaq closed at 2,744, down 26 ¾ and the S&P 500 dropped 10 1/3 to close at 1,314.
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