Cattle Futures - Live Cattle Mixed
KANSAS CITY - Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed lower Tuesday, pressured by ongoing concerns of large supplies and uncertainty for wholesale pork prices.
5 December 2007
1 minute read
Belly futures also ended lower, while live cattle finished mixed but mostly higher, and feeder cattle were lower.
Lower wholesale pork prices Monday contributed to the early selling in lean hogs, and the December through May contracts fell to two-week lows. December hogs, which will expire on Dec. 14, ended 40 points lower at 54.30 cents a pound. Most-active February hogs broke 20-day moving average support, filled a chart gap that was formed on Nov. 20 then closed down 90 points at 60.32 cents. The December and February closes were their lowest since Nov. 19.
Speculative and hedge selling pressured the deferred contracts. The October and December '08 contracts hit fresh 5 1/2-week lows.
Rich Nelson, analyst with Allendale Inc. in McHenry, Ill., said expectations of another very large slaughter and the break in the pork cutout Monday are driving the near-term pessimism.
Analysts and brokers expect another huge slaughter this week with the early projections from 2.350 million to 2.375 million head.
