Lean hogs were mixed but most months squeaked out modest gains. February bellies settled unchanged. Pit-traded Chicago live cattle futures Monday settled narrowly mixed but mostly lower as traders awaited some form of outside direction for prices.
In the other markets, feeder cattle closed lower.
October ended the day with a 0.05 cent gain at 74.87 cents a pound. Dec was up 0.17 cent at 72.75 cents.
February pork bellies closed unchanged at 105.25 cents.
The August live cattle contract settled 0.80 cent a pound lower at 97.25 cents. September feeder cattle contract was down 1.17 cents at 115.10 cents.
Wheat prices climbed Monday as nervous end users scrambled to lock in supplies of the grain due to growing worries about dryness threatening output in the Southern Hemisphere. Wheat for September delivery settled 8 3/4 cents higher at $6.71 1/4 after reaching a one-week high of $6.95 1/4 on the Chicago Board of Trade. KCBT December wheat finished up 10 cents at $7.24. MGE December wheat closed up 7 cents at $7.19 1/2 after reaching a session high of $7.41.
A combination of exhausted buying and grain/soybean spreading combined to weigh on soybean futures Monday. Chicago Board of Trade September soybeans ended 4 cents lower, at $10.18. Soy product futures ended lower Monday, backpedaling in unison with soybeans. December soyoil settled 0.27 cents lower at 40.53 cents per pound. December soymeal ended $0.80 lower at $298.70 per short ton.
Cotton futures continue to trade near two-year highs on recent bullish exports, tight stocks and ongoing crop worries in Pakistan.
Cotton for nearby October delivery rose 0.34 cent Monday, or 0.38%, to 89.37 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. Gold futures continued their incremental march higher Monday as market participants remain wary about the economic recovery and anticipate a return of more robust buying of the metal in September.
The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, rose $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,239.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver futures ended steady, with December metal finishing at $19.074 an ounce.
Crude-oil futures settled slightly lower Monday, dropping after a three-session rally as data due this week are expected to show that the economy continues to struggle.
Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery settled 47 cents lower at $74.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September heating oil settled 1.91 cents lower at $2.0252 a gallon. Gasoline settled 1.38 cents lower at $1.9341 a gallon.
Natural-gas futures jumped Monday as ongoing risks from hurricane season and a government report showing productions declines in June boosted prices. Gas for October delivery rose 10.7 cents to settle at $3.812/MMBtu on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Wall Street lost ground Monday with the Dow closing down 140 at 10009, NASDAQ lost 33 to settle at 2119, and the S&P fell 15 to finish the day at 1048.
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