Commodities : Pork Futures Prices Rise

Pork futures prices overcame a lower cash market to register strong advances Tuesday, with pork bellies up the limit for daily trading.

On some other markets, platinum futures plunged sharply, crude oil rallied to close about unchanged, livestock and meat were mostly higher, and corn was lower but other grains and soybeans were higher.

Pork bellies put on a strong performance at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, bouncing off new lows early in the session to close as much as 2 cents a pound higher, said Philip Stanley, an analyst with Thomson McKinnon Securities Inc. in Chicago.

“Wholesale pork prices were under a lot of pressure, with hams sharply lower. Cash hogs were sharply lower, worse than expected,” Stanley said. “The country was overrun with hogs yesterday.”

The only reason pork futures turned around is because they’ve been straight down for the last several days and were due for a rebound, he said.

But, unless the cash market improves, “this rally will certainly fall flat on its face,” Stanley said.