Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell on Wednesday, as poor demand for pork smothered any bargain-buying attempts to pull prices away from contract lows hit earlier this week.
Cattle contracts also were lower, but the declines were kept in check by expectations that corn prices will remain weak and keep feeding costs in check.
“We still need to show a fundamental improvement,” Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker at FuturesOne said in reference to prospects for bargain-buying rallies in both cattle and hog markets.
Most actively traded June lean hog futures dipped 0.225 cent, to 84.175 cents/lb. (all figures US$).
August feeder cattle fell 0.975 cent to 225.15 cents/lb.
June live cattle dropped 0.925 cent, to 163 cents/lb. The contract fell below its 10-day and 30-day moving averages.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
