DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/23 17:11
23 Mar 2018
DTN Closing Livestock Comment 03/23 17:11 Hog Futures Implode Thanks to Fear of Retaliatory Tariffs Triple-digit losses in the lean hog market send prices to five-month lows. The trade was pressured by Chinese threats of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. pork. The cattle complex also closed sharply lower, pressured by long liquidation technical-selling and trade war implications. By John Harrington DTN Livestock Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS The cash cattle trade was a nonevent Friday thanks to relatively larger trade volume generated near midweek. The national hog base closed off $0.03 compared with the prior day settlement ($49-$54.03, weighted average $53.96). From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: Apr LC off $5.20; Jun LC off $5.55; Mar FC off $4.27; May FC off $3.65; Apr LH off $7.03; May LH off $7.53. Corn futures closed a penny-plus higher, successfully recovering from early trade war worries and somewhat supported by lower estimates of the Argentine corn crop. The stock market continued to react negatively to trade war rhetoric and fears of the slowing economy. The Dow slumped another 424 points lower with the Nasdaq off 174.