Pork bellies ended down sharply with all months except far-February locked-limit down. Feeder cattle posted sizable loses. And April and June live cattle ended weak while other months settled moderately higher.

Pork futures wasted little time on its downward journey after Friday's U.S. Department of Agriculture's quarterly hog survery revealed more hogs in the country than expected.

Early-week market uncertainty and board premiums' to CME's hog index kept prospective buyer on the sidelines. Also, dwindling calculated packer profit margins and tepid wholesale pork sales worked against lean hogs from the outset.

Furthermore, long-term implications from Friday's pig numbers spilled over into deferred hog contracts despite Chicago Board of Trade corn's bullish reaction to USDA's early-Monday planting report.

Most live hog prices came in higher during Monday's session with mixed cash bids seen for Tuesday, in part because of shrinking packer profit returns.

Further Reading

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You can view the full USDA Quarterly Pigs and Hogs Report - March 2008 by clicking here.