Hog futures extended a slide to a 10- week low on speculation that U.S. consumers are slowing pork purchases as the economy remains under pressure. Cattle sank to the lowest level since January.
Wholesale pork tumbled to a seven-week low last week, to 84.78 cents a pound, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. The price is still 49 percent higher than a year earlier, which may be curbing retail sales, said Don Roose, the president of U.S. Commodities Inc. On Friday, the government said payrolls rose less than forecast, a sign of a slowing economic recovery.
Pork prices “have been at a pretty lofty level here for the past 10 weeks, and the consumer is still getting beat by the poor economy,” Roose said from West Des Moines, Iowa. “Seasonally, we seem to have ample hogs around for the next two weeks” to meet consumer demand, he said.
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