Commodities for Thursday, June 20, 1985 : Livestock Futures Plunge

Livestock and meat prices plunged Thursday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on the eve of several major government reports on animal inventories.

Live cattle for delivery in June and August fell by the 1.5 cent a pound limit, ending the day at new low prices.

“It’s just sick,” said Robert Saathoff, vice president for commodity research in New York with Prudential-Bache Securities.

Saathoff said cattle being slaughtered are about 5% heavier than those slaughtered a year ago, and demand is poor.

A report to be released Friday by the Agriculture Department is expected to show that the number of cattle on feed lots in the seven major beef producing states was about steady with a year ago.

The selling in the cattle pit also prompted selling in the nearby hog and pork belly pits, even though another report to be released Friday is expected to show a decline in hog and pig inventories, Saathoff said.

However, he said, some analysts think farmers might be starting to expand their hog production.