991064 Frozen Pork Bellies ClimbOctober 22, 1999Coming off a day of profit-taking, frozen pork belly futures prices continued to climb on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, while prices on the fresh market even surpassed pork loins and other traditionally pricier cuts. On other markets, wheat futures prices were up, while corn and soybean futures fell on the Chicago Board of Trade. Gold futures also fell on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The meat market has been healthier overall, boosted by a good economy and the inclusion of meat in the U.S. food aid package to Russia. But some analysts say there appears to be something else -- something that's pushing pork belly prices higher in a post-summer season when they traditionally take a dive. Could it be that bacon is trendy? “It certainly seems to be,” said Dan Vaught, livestock analyst, A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis. For one, three fast-food chains -- Burger King, Wendy's and Jack in the Box -- have all introduced new sandwiches featuring bacon. He also points to high-protein diets that have sent shoppers who normally avoid items like bacon to the meat and cheese aisles. Meanwhile, fresh pork bellies have been flirting with the 80-cent-a-pound mark, while regular untrimmed pork loins have been in the low 70s. Vaught called that a “real shock.” “I cannot find a time when pork belly prices were over the regular loin price and that is the case at the moment,” Vaught said. In trading Tuesday, February frozen pork bellies rose the limit 3 cents to 66.02 cents a pound and December lean hogs were up 1.75 cents to 48.97 a pound. December live cattle also rose .40 cent to 70.27 cents a pound, and November feeder cattle rose .23 cent to 82.60 cents a pound. Elsewhere, wheat futures prices settled up, while soybean and corn futures finished mostly lower in trading Tuesday. Forecasts for dry weather in the southern Plains and Pacific Northwest buoyed wheat futures prices. “It's enough to give a boost out of the doldrums,” said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities Inc. Meanwhile, corn futures were pressured by news of an ahead-of-schedule harvest. And soybean futures dropped on forecasts for rain in drought-plagued northern Brazil. Wheat for December delivery rose 2 3/4 cents to $2.63 a bushel; December corn fell 1 1/4 cent to $2.01 a bushel; December oats fell 3/4 cent to $1.09 1/2 a bushel; and November soybeans dropped 1/4 cent to $4.94 3/4 a bushel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures fell as the dollar rallied against the euro and Japanese yen. After dropping to an 18-day low of $306.20 at one point, December gold recovered somewhat to finish down $2.20 to $309.50 an ounce.
|
