Floor-traded Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs closed higher Tuesday on short covering that helped the market recoup a portion of its losses that occurred over the previous three trading sessions. August lean hogs closed at 81.70 up 0.50. Pork bellies were unquoted.
Live cattle at the Merc settled mostly weak on spreading out of deferred contracts into August and outside-market pressure, feeder cattle settled flat to weak on lower cash feeder cattle prices. August live cattle ended up 30 at 93.40, August feeders closed down 15 at 112.12.
U.S. wheat prices fell for the third consecutive session Tuesday as the grain backed away from its record-breaking rally. September wheat in Chicago closed down 17 3/4 at $6.94, September wheat in KC closed down 7 1/2 at $7.12, and MGE September wheat dropped 10 to $7.05.
U.S. corn futures fell Tuesday, ending near session lows on pressure from wheat, outside markets and a solid crop. September corn ended down 9 1/2 to $3.93.
Soybean futures prices retreated Tuesday, stumbling under the weight of favorable crop conditions and bearish production and yield outlooks, Soy product futures prices backpedaled Tuesday, sliding in unison with declines in soybeans. August soybeans finished down 12 1/4 at $10.36, December soy oil dropped 26 to 42.23, and December soy meal ended $4.60 lower at $289.80.
ICE cotton rebounded from weak early trading to close higher Tuesday on speculative fund buying linked to worries over the Pakistan crop. December cotton rose 74 to 81.13.
Gold futures Tuesday settled lower on caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated policy statement, but broke into positive territory when the central bank announced it would take action to stimulate the economy and leave its key interest rate unchanged. Gold had settled down $4.60 to $1,198 an ounce, but rose in after-hours electronic trade,
Crude futures pared early losses Tuesday, managing to again settle above $80 a barrel after the Federal Reserve said it would take additional measures to stimulate the U.S. economy.
September crude dropped $1.23 to $80.25 a barrel, September gasoline fell 3.34 cents to $2.08 a gallon, and September distillates fell 2.84 cents to $2.12 a gallon.
Natural gas futures settled down slightly Tuesday, continuing a downward trend this month caused by high supplies and cooler weather. September Natural gas fell 1.2 cents to $4.29.
Wall Street erased most of a triple-digit decline but still closed in the red on concerns about the Fed’s latest lifeline for the struggling economic recovery. The Dow lost 54 to close at 10,644, the Nasdaq closed at 2,277, down 28 ½ and the S&P 500 finished off 6 ¾ at 1,121. |