Market Recap: Hogs Gain on Hopes that Pork has Reached it’s Seasonal Low

Lean hog futures finished mostly higher as some traders covered short positions after recent losses, especially in light of building hopes for a seasonal low in pork prices. April hogs closed up 15 at 86.02, June hogs closed down 2 to 93.40.
 

U.S. live cattle futures closed lower Monday as concerns about building supplies added to persistent signs of soft beef demand. April live cattle fell 12 to $125, April feeders fell 95 to $153.

US wheat futures ended lower, pressured by favorable weather for the winter-wheat crop and Russia saying it won't place any restrictions on grain exports, ending expectations that it might adopt duties to boost domestic supplies. May wheat in Chicago wheat slid19 ¾ to $6.52 while May wheat in KC fell 14 to $6.91.
 

US corn futures ended down, pressured by a fall in wheat prices and a stalled rally in Chinese corn prices. May corn ended down 9 1/2 at $6.63.
US soybean futures ended lower on profit-taking and weak cash market prices. May soybeans ended down 7 1/2 to $13.66, May soybean oil closed down 10 to 55.40 and May soybean meal ended down $3.50 to $370.90.

ICE cotton futures settled at a seven-session high, as jumps in demand after prices fell below 90c/lb. continued to buoy prices from dips. May cotton gained 160 to 89.08, and the July contract gained 185 to 89.90.

Gold futures climbed on Monday, with the March contract gaining $11.30 to close at $1,667.10, and the March silver contract jumping .36 cents to $32.91.
 

U.S. crude-oil futures settled higher Monday, with trading dominated by position adjustments that suggests still-higher prices on the horizon. April crude gained $1.03 to $108.09 a barrel, April gasoline gained 1.09 cents to $3.36 a gallon, and April distillates fell 2.06 cents to $3.26 a gallon.
 

Natural gas futures ended higher Monday as traders took a recent drop nearly to decade lows as a chance to lock in profits. April Natural gas gained 2.5 cents to $2.35.
 

On Wall Street, the move from safe-haven assets to riskier equities continued on Monday, with stocks rising and Treasury bonds slumping as traders responded to generally upbeat corporate news. The Dow gained 6 to close at 13,239, the Nasdaq closed at 3,078, up 23 and the S&P 500 gained 5 ½ to close at 1,409.