Market Summary: Supply Glut in Hogs May be Over – Futures Gain

US lean-hog futures ended higher amid short-covering and sentiment that a supply glut is ending. After hitting the lowest level since December 2010 on Friday, the market's subsequent rebound attracted more buying and short-covering as traders speculate the market may have bottomed. Herd liquidation amid poor margins and high corn prices have weighed recently on the hog market. October lean hogs rose 122 to 72.57, and the December contract gained 107 to 71.57.
 

Live cattle, meanwhile ended lower amid sluggish beef prices, with October off 72 at $125, and October feeder cattle fell 42 to $146.
At the livestock auction held Friday in Siler City a total of 958 cattle and 163 goats were sold. Slaughter cows trended mostly steady; bulls were mixed, 1.00 lower to 3.50 higher. M&L 1-2 feeder calves, 400-600 lbs., trended mostly steady to 17.00 higher.
 

US grain and soy futures settled lower as nervous market participants exit positions to reduce risk ahead of USDA's Wednesday crop report. Corn led the losses, pressured as well by weaker cash markets as farmers harvesting corn immediately sell it to benefit from high prices. Soybeans and wheat were also lower in pre-report trade. December corn fell 16 1/4 to $7.83, December wheat in Chicago fell 15 1/4 at $8.89, December wheat in KC dropped 18 ¾ to $9.04, and November soybeans fell 17 3/4 to $17.18.
 

No. 2 yellow shelled corn trended 16 to 17 cents lower when compared to last report. Prices ranged $7.63-$8.58 at feed mills and $7.68-$8.19 at elevators. No. 1 yellow soybeans trended 3 to 18 cents lower and were $17.93 at processors, and $16.69-$17.24 at elevators. No. 2 red winter wheat trended 17 cents lower at $7.88. Soybean meal, f.o.b. at processing plants was $585.20 per ton for 48% protein.

Cotton futures eased in thin trade as the market anticipates the September supply/demand report from the USDA. December cotton fell 67 to 75.63, and near-month October lost 74 to 74.98.

Oil futures crept higher Monday, erasing earlier losses, as investors focused on the prospects for another round of monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve. October crude gained 12 cents to $96.54 a barrel, October gasoline gained a fraction to $3.02 a gallon and October distillates gained 1.79 cents to $3.16 a gallon.
 

The natural-gas market bid up futures prices by nearly 5% Monday as buyers sensed an opportunity to re-enter the market following last week's retreat. October natural-gas prices settled Monday at $2.81, up 13 cents.
 

Wall Street stocks fell on Monday as investors locked in gains on a recent rally ahead of possible policy action from the Federal Reserve later this week, while weakness in Intel shares weighed on the Nasdaq, which fell more than 1 percent. The Dow fell 52 to 13,254, the Nasdaq closed at 3,104, down 32, and the S&P 500 fell 8 to 1,429.