Trending
Pork Market Meltdown
The breath-taking crash in the hog futures was caused by a sudden realization of supply of large hogs coming to market and not finding buyers. Brazilian pork output and exports have been large and are expected to keep growing. Though the extent this could continue is not known, there were precedents only old-timer hog producers can remember. In 1998, for example, cash hog prices fell roughly 75% with some communities seeing a drop to near zero due to the supply glut.
Here in Indiana, for example, your author recalls home-made signs on State Highway 41 giving away "Free Feeder Pigs," which were offered to any takers since keeping and feeding pigs cost more than the grain fed to the animals.
Oats Even Bigger Loser
Though the boogie man got wheat, corn and beans this week due to nearly-completed American and European harvests boosting supply, oats had farther to fall since they had run-up sharply in September. Like political leaders, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. Canada is a huge source of U.S. oats providing roughly 50% of our domestic supply. Most oats are used for feeding horses, cattle, goats and other livestock though some are processed for human foods including oatmeal and cereal such as Cheerios. Oats for December delivery crashed from a high of $4.45 in early October to low of $3.41 by week's end.
Black Day for Stock Index Futures
Though not close to the decline of Black Tuesday of 1929 or Black Monday of 1987, most stock index futures, led by the December NASDAQ, tumbled to new lows for the past three months. Few analysts called the decline a buying opportunity but Wall Street continued to assure investors that holding during such a decline is safe, wise and advantageous in the long term. We'll see.
News Oil Over the Place
Oil Continued to flow from the Gulf but crude still rallied as geopolitical risks dominated. JD Vance looked to restart peace negotiation with Iran with uncertain results. Meanwhile, Europe has planned to release 42 million barrels of crude and diesel over the next three months to help soaring energy prices there. Attacks and threatened attacks near Saudi infrastructure continued to support West Texas and Brent prices.
CME midday prices - November Soybeans, $12.22; December Corn, $4.48; December Wheat, $6.04. Livestock per 100 pounds: December Cattle, $224; December Hogs, $59. Metals per troy ounce: December Gold, $3,890; December Silver, $49.10, December Copper per pound: $6.46. December Crude oil per barrel: (WTI) $104. September S&P futures traded at 7580.
------------
Walt Breitinger is a commodity futures broker in Indiana. He can be reached at 800-411-FUTURES (3888) or www.indianafutures.com.
Pinion Futures, LLC, a CFTC registered Introducing Broker and NFA Member (NFA #0284447), is a fully owned subsidiary of Pinion Risk Management LLC. Information contained herein is believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed as to its accuracy or completeness. Futures and options trading involve substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.