Profit-taking after two straight days of advances prior to the long holiday weekend and fund selling took down CME hogs contracts, pork bellies were unquoted throughout the session. December hogs ended down 110 at 73.55.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle sank to its lowest level in three weeks Tuesday on fund selling and trepidation about post-Labor Day market fundamentals, feeder cattle closed down as well in sympathy with live cattle's tumble and chart-oriented selling. December live cattle finished down 195 at 98.70, September feeder cattle closed off 225 at 111.92.
Wheat prices ended a three-day winning streak as traders booked profits following recent gains and wondered whether Russia would lift its grain-export ban early. December Wheat in Chicago fell 6 to $7.35, December wheat in KC pulled back 4 3/4 to $7.53, MGE December wheat slipped 4 1/2 to $7.53.
U.S. corn futures edged higher Tuesday, matching Friday's 23-month high, underpinned by solid demand and ongoing concerns about the size of the 2010 U.S. corn crop. September corn ended up 1 3/4 at $4.51.
U.S. soybean futures rallied Tuesday, propelling to 9-month highs, as strong export demand, technical buying and positioning in front of Friday's crop reports buoyed prices. Soy product futures ended higher in unison with soybeans. Soyoil futures were the upside leader of the products, with huge sales of soyoil announced by USDA Tuesday morning providing a fresh dose of bullish news to lift prices September soybeans ended up 14 at $10.43, December soyoil settled 93 higher at 41.79 and December soymeal ended up $3.40 at $306.70.
Cotton futures climbed past two-year highs Tuesday as Tropical Storm Hermine drenched crops in southern Texas and India aimed to limit exports. December cotton rose 173 to 91.18
Gold futures finished at a record settlement, driven by similar factors--worries over Europe's banking system and the global recovery--that brought the yellow metal to all-time highs in June.
September gold ended $8.10 higher at $1,257.30 an ounce, Dec silver closed at $19.91 down 3.5 cents.
Crude futures settled lower Tuesday, as concerns about the health of the global economy weighed on crude even as a refinery explosion in Mexico pushed oil products higher.
October crude fell 51 cents to $74.09, October gasoline gained 1.34 cents to $1.93 a gallon, and October distillates gained 1.70 cents to $2.07 a gallon.
Natural gas futures slid Tuesday as forecasts for temperate weather reduced the demand outlook for gas-fired power generation. October Natural gas dropped 8.7 cents to $3.85.
The Dow sank as Wall Street’s European sovereign debt headache returned. The Dow finished down 107 at 10,340, the Nasdaq closed at 2,208, down 24 7/8 and the S&P 500 fell 12 2/3 to 1,091.
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