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Wheat, pork get trimmed
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August 31, 1998: 6:41 p.m. ET
Rough day on Wall St. hits hogs, red wheat; but index, natural gas gain
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wheat futures prices dropped Monday as the reeling U.S. stock market added to a supply glut and soft export markets that have already dragged on the grain's prices.
The Chicago Board of Trade red wheat futures contract for delivery in December fell 4-1/2 cents, to $2.54 a bushel, amid flourishing supplies and weaker exports.
That came after the Dow Jones industrial average set the tone for several agricultural markets to begin a sell-off. The Dow nose-dived 512 points Monday.
Prices of agricultural commodities, a key part of the overall economy, often are influenced by the performance of other financial markets, especially the stock market.
The global market rout suggests fewer countries worldwide will have the cash they need to buy U.S. agricultural products such as wheat. Weaker equity prices suggest global investors lost money they could use to buy grains.
"It's the same story but a different day," said Tom Levis, an analyst at Prudential Securities.
Speculation about how much wheat will be included in a U.S. government loan program also fueled jitters in the wheat market.
The recent collapse of the Russian ruble, economic turmoil in Asia and the plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average continued to hit wheat prices.
Commodity prices overall, despite the Wall Street plunge, actually rose. The CRB-Bridge futures index, which highlights the performance of a basket of 17 commodities, gained 0.33 points at 195.68
The index hit its lowest level in a generation last week.
Bringing home cheaper bacon
Signs of solid hog supplies to come this fall and a tough day on Wall Street sent both lean hog and pork belly futures lower in Chicago Mercantile Exchange trading.
The CME lean hogs contract futures contract for October delivery fell two cents, or limit down, to 37.275 cents per pound.
The CME pork bellies contract for February delivery fell 3 cents, also a maximum one-day dip in percentage terms, to 46.95 cents per pound.
While analysts said the stock market helped take the floor out of prices Monday, the main reason was growing forecasts of strong supply throughout the autumn season.
"The negative fundamental aspect is that we have a very large supply of cattle and hogs," said Jim Holzer, livestock analyst with Frontier Risk Management.
"It's tied to the inability of farmers to export just as there is an oversupply in this country," said Bernie Savaiko, a commodities analyst with PaineWebber.
Natural gas prices gain
Natural gas prices rose Monday amid an oversupply of short positions and concerns that a lingering hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico could damage offshore rigs.
The NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas futures contract for delivery in October rose 8.8 cents, to $1.752 per million British thermal units. 
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