Floor-traded Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs settled negatively for a second straight session on lackluster market fundamentals and the stock market's steep drop, pork bellies finished flat to weak in low volume on lean hog declines. July lean hogs finished down 77 at 78.75, July bellies ended unchanged at 101.20.
Profit-taking after recent futures advances and heavy equities' losses produced a lower CME live cattle settlement Tuesday, Feeder cattle at the CME also finished lower due to profit-taking. June live cattle closed down 55 at 90.65, August feeders closed down 110 at 112.87.
Spillover pressure from losses in other markets and bearishness about active winter wheat cutting pushed U.S. wheat futures to their lowest prices in more than two weeks Tuesday. September wheat in Chicago closed down 8 at $4.57, September wheat in KC fell 10 3/4 tot $4.79, and Minneapolis Grain Exchange September wheat dropped 8 3/4 to $5.04.
Corn futures ended lower Tuesday, continuing the market's descent from prior gains en route to new contract lows. July corn fell 8 3/4 to $3.25.
Soybean futures backpedaled from early gains as the market succumbed to broad-based commodity weakness, Soy meal futures ended lower, influenced by broader based losses on world economic concerns, and Soy oil futures stumbled Tuesday, retreating to 8-month lows. July soybeans dropped 7 3/4 to $9.47, December soy meal ended down $1.70 at $265.80, December soy oil fell a fraction to 36.81.
ICE cotton was pressured by a number of factors, including weak Chinese and U.S. economic data that clouds demand prospects. December cotton lost 32 to 78.13
Gold futures eked out slight gains while growth-sensitive markets capitulated to fears about a faltering worldwide economic recovery. August gold rose $3.80 to $1,242.40 an ounce, September silver fell 8.3 cents to $18.63 an ounce.
Crude-oil futures fell to a two-week low Tuesday in a rout across many commodities and equities markets as fears of a slowdown in global growth hit prospects for increased oil demand.
August crude dropped $2.31 to $75.94 a barrel, July gasoline fell 6.56 cents to $2.07 a gallon, and July distillates lost 7.2 cents to $2.02 a gallon.
Natural-gas futures ratcheted lower Tuesday, driven by tumbling equities and signs that Tropical Storm Alex will miss energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. August Natural gas dropped 18.5 cents at $4.54.
The Dow tumbled below the 10000 level in the wake of ugly consumer confidence figures and fresh signs China’s economic recovery could derail. The Dow plunged 268 to 9,870, the Nasdaq closed at 2,135, down 85 ½ and the S&P 500 dropped 33 1/3 to close at 1,041.
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