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.
