Livestock Futures Prices Fall

Livestock futures prices, reflecting a sluggish demand at the retail level, fell Thursday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

“There’s a problem in the livestock markets right now and that problem is called ‘demand,”’ said Chuck Levitt, an analyst with Shearson Lehman Bros. in Chicago.

“The retailers are not featuring red beef or pork and the net result of the sluggish movement is beginning to back onto futures markets and create some problems,” Levitt said.

He said there is an adequate near-term supply of beef. “We’re still dealing with the large numbers from the domestic feedlots,” he said.

But a change may be in the offing. Levitt predicted that Friday’s cattle on feed report by the Agriculture Department will indicate placements fell 5 percent in January compared to the same month in 1984.

But feedlot operators are still working off their large herds and will market 9 percent more in January than the year before, he said.

“Down the road there will be less beef and pork,” Levitt said.