Commodities for Monday, July 15, 1985 : Cattle, Hog Futures Drop
Cattle futures prices dropped sharply Monday and hog prices followed suit on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as the price of a key grade of wholesale beef hit a new low this year.
“That was a big disappointment for the market,” said Chuck Levitt, a livestock analyst with Shearson Lehman Bros. in Chicago.
He said the grade of wholesale beef was Choice Yield Grade 3 Steer Carcass Beef, FOB River, which dropped 1 to 2 cents and was offered at 84 cents a pound at mid-session.
Weaker sales of boxed beef cuts as well as abundant slaughterhouse supplies also helped push cattle prices to new contract lows on the year, Levitt said.
“Cattle slaughterers did not show a lot of aggresiveness in buying cattle last week,” he said. “Apparently they had enough inventory built up.” Consequently, cattle are “getting backlogged when they should be moving to market,” he said.
The weakening in the cattle pits spilled over into the hog pits, Levitt said.
“With beef getting cheaper, it is hard for the pork items on the wholesale market to maintain any strength,” he said.
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