Market Recap: Hog Futures Close Lower in Quiet Trade
Trading was quiet on Monday as most state governments banking institutions, and the federal government were closed for the Veteran’s Day holiday.
U.S. lean-hog futures closed lower Monday, also impacted by the grain sell-off, as well as waning seasonal demand. December hogs finished down 42 to 80.32, February also fell, dropping 5 to 86.27.
U.S. live-cattle futures finished trading mostly lower Monday amid sharp declines across grain futures and weakening beef demand, which industry experts expect to linger until Thanksgiving. December Live Cattle shed 4 to $125, the November feeder-cattle contract finished narrowly lower, losing 2 at $144.
US grain and soybean futures tumbled Monday, with technically based speculative selling pinning prices deeply in negative territory. Soybeans hit 5-month lows on continued pressure from Friday's bigger-than-expected US production-and-stockpile forecasts. Wheat and corn followed lower, with wheat drawing added pressure from last week's data. January soybeans finished down 46 ¾ at $14.05, December wheat in Chicago was off 29 1/4 at $8.57, December wheat in KC fell 31 ¾ to 8.90 and December corn fell 21 to $7.17.
Cotton futures advanced in triple their normal trading volume as new buying triggered buy-stops in the market. Traders closed some bets that prices would fall, worrying that the recent buildup in the net-short position held by funds has left cotton vulnerable to a sudden short-covering rally. December cotton rose 83 to 70.88, and the March contract gained 71 to 71.15.
Gold ended flat in thin trading on Monday, with many market participants out for a holiday in the U.S. and an industry conference in Hong Kong. December gold settled unchanged at $1,730.90, and December silver closed at $32.52, down 7.7 cents.
Oil futures edged lower Monday, as a report from a global energy watchdog highlighted rising oil production in the U.S. December crude fell 50 cents to $85.57 a barrel, December gasoline dropped 2.29 cents to $2.67 a gallon, and December distillates fell a fraction to $2.99 a gallon.
Natural-gas futures rose Monday as cooler weather is expected to result in a drop in U.S. gas stockpiles later this week. Natural gas gained 6.7 cents to $3.57.
On Wall Street, stocks ended mixed in choppy trade on Monday as firmer Chinese economic data offset concerns about a possible U.S. fiscal crisis and delays to an installment of Greek aid. The Dow fell a fraction to close at 12,815, the Nasdaq closed at 2,904, also down a fraction, and the S&P 500 gained a fraction to 1,380.
