# Markets fall apart on virus fear | Western Livestock Journal

> Cattle futures and cash markets fell sharply last week on coronavirus fears affecting global trade. The February live cattle contract lost $6 and feeder futures fell below $130, while cash cattle sold $5-6 lower. Managed money rushed to build short positions.

- Date: 2020-03-02 · published 2020-03-02T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: disease · region Global · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5308-markets-fall-apart-on-virus-fear-western-livestock-journal
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Fear-driven selling and fund shorting pressure cattle and feeder prices, and fears about trade disruption weigh on the feed chain.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bearish ▼
- LCATTLE: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2020-03-02 | 5 | -5.0% | -3.1 | Week-ending coverage of live cattle falling sharply on coronavirus trade fears with cash $5-6 lower and managed money building shorts directly explains the 5-day drop. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2020-05-15 | [The divergence in beef marketing margins \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53256-the-divergence-in-beef-marketing-margins-western-livestock-journal.md) | +6.2% | +5.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-04-05 | [Pete's Comments: April Fools’ Day \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6737-pete-s-comments-april-fools-day-western-livestock-journal.md) | -1.0% | -2.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-05-03 | [Bovine flu still adding pressure in the marketplace \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5413-bovine-flu-still-adding-pressure-in-the-marketplace-western-livestock-journal.md) | +0.2% | +3.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-04-05 | [HPAI uncertainty leads to major futures selloff \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6735-hpai-uncertainty-leads-to-major-futures-selloff-western-livestock-journal.md) | -1.0% | -2.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-04-03 | [Cattle markets are on a coronavirus roller coaster - High Plains Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7267-cattle-markets-are-on-a-coronavirus-roller-coaster-high-plains-journal.md) | -2.9% | -12.7% |
| FCATTLE | 2020-05-15 | [The divergence in beef marketing margins \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53256-the-divergence-in-beef-marketing-margins-western-livestock-journal.md) | +1.8% | +5.9% |
| FCATTLE | 2024-04-05 | [HPAI uncertainty leads to major futures selloff \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6735-hpai-uncertainty-leads-to-major-futures-selloff-western-livestock-journal.md) | -1.5% | +0.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2020-04-03 | [Cattle markets are on a coronavirus roller coaster - High Plains Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7267-cattle-markets-are-on-a-coronavirus-roller-coaster-high-plains-journal.md) | +8.0% | +6.5% |

## Sources

- wlj.net: https://www.wlj.net/markets-fall-apart-on-virus-fear/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.