Livestock Futures Prices Off

Livestock futures prices Friday were mostly lower, reflecting cuts in cash meat prices commanded by consumer resistance, analysts said.

“Packers and processors have had to lower their selling prices to move their (beef) product,” said Chuck Levitt, an analyst in Chicago with Shearson Lehman Bros.

The result on futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was sharply lower prices in the nearby delivery months.

In the pork complex, bellies for delivery in July were down the 2-cent limit for daily trading for the second straight day and hog futures were generally weak.

Coffee futures soared the limit of 4 cents a pound on the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange in New York. The July and September contracts, on which there are no limits, climbed even higher.

Analysts said the run-up was attributed to dry weather in Brazil and fears of a drought.

Oil futures failed to sustain a rally and again slipped lower, with most gasoline and heating oil contracts down 1 cent or more a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“Mostly it was profit taking” after a slight run-up Thursday, said Ed Dellamonte, an analyst with Prudential-Bache Securities.