The futures market lets investors speculate on future products before they are produced. If a poor pork bellies supply is expected later, pork bellies' futures prices rise; if a bountiful pork bellies supply is expected, pork bellies futures prices fall. This morning, swineologists predicted an oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow. Thus, since sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies, prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
A) Pigs that do not consume adequate slop during the critical growth stage will not produce a full, rich product.
B) This fiscal year, pork bellies futures prices have varied more erratically compared to last year.
C) The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas.
D) Today, a press release by pork experts said that the foot-in-mouth disease decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season.
E) Investors who speculate in pork bellies futures rarely take physical possession of the pork bellies they trade.
OA after discussions, thanks.
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The futures market lets investors speculate
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gmatdriller
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crackinggmat
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C ...because slop is required in big amount by pigpen area ...so if slop is distributed well outside pigpen area ....sufficient stock will not be available for pigs ...hence decreased supply of pisbellies ...hence high prices ...hence weakened....
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reply2spg
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Very difficult language to understand
IMO C is correct here.
IMO C is correct here.
gmatdriller wrote:The futures market lets investors speculate on future products before they are produced. If a poor pork bellies supply is expected later, pork bellies' futures prices rise; if a bountiful pork bellies supply is expected, pork bellies futures prices fall. This morning, swineologists predicted an oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow. Thus, since sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies, prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
A) Pigs that do not consume adequate slop during the critical growth stage will not produce a full, rich product. - Incorrect, we are concerned here with the quantity and not with the quality, OUT
B) This fiscal year, pork bellies futures prices have varied more erratically compared to last year. - Incorrect, Out of scope. no comparison is required, OUT
C) The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas. - Correct, As per the passage this slope was important for the survival of the strong current supply of the pork. If slope is outside the area then supply will not be strong and supply will be poor. If supply is poor then prices will be high.
D) Today, a press release by pork experts said that the foot-in-mouth disease decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season. - Incorrect. This is also a good option to hold on. However, there are 2 issues with this option. Firstly, we do not know which of those 'some of the bellies' and secondly, disease will be widespread before the season. Who knows there might be some medicine which will control the disease, OUT
E) Investors who speculate in pork bellies futures rarely take physical possession of the pork bellies they trade. - Incorrect, what to do with the physical possession of the pork bellies? When we invest in future or in equity, we don't care how are we taking the possession of the share. And in this question we are dealing with the price and not with the possession. What if investors get possession of the bellies, does that mean prices will rise? OUT
OA after discussions, thanks.
Sudhanshu
(have lot of things to learn from all of you)
(have lot of things to learn from all of you)
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diebeatsthegmat
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actually the answer must be D.reply2spg wrote:Very difficult language to understand
IMO C is correct here.
gmatdriller wrote:The futures market lets investors speculate on future products before they are produced. If a poor pork bellies supply is expected later, pork bellies' futures prices rise; if a bountiful pork bellies supply is expected, pork bellies futures prices fall. This morning, swineologists predicted an oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow. Thus, since sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies, prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
A) Pigs that do not consume adequate slop during the critical growth stage will not produce a full, rich product. - Incorrect, we are concerned here with the quantity and not with the quality, OUT
B) This fiscal year, pork bellies futures prices have varied more erratically compared to last year. - Incorrect, Out of scope. no comparison is required, OUT
C) The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas. - Correct, As per the passage this slope was important for the survival of the strong current supply of the pork. If slope is outside the area then supply will not be strong and supply will be poor. If supply is poor then prices will be high.
D) Today, a press release by pork experts said that the foot-in-mouth disease decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season. - Incorrect. This is also a good option to hold on. However, there are 2 issues with this option. Firstly, we do not know which of those 'some of the bellies' and secondly, disease will be widespread before the season. Who knows there might be some medicine which will control the disease, OUT
E) Investors who speculate in pork bellies futures rarely take physical possession of the pork bellies they trade. - Incorrect, what to do with the physical possession of the pork bellies? When we invest in future or in equity, we don't care how are we taking the possession of the share. And in this question we are dealing with the price and not with the possession. What if investors get possession of the bellies, does that mean prices will rise? OUT
OA after discussions, thanks.
they pridicted that supply of pork will be bountiful because the oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow >>> pork price will decrease but what if before the " killing pork" season there will a kind of disease which will kill so so many porks thus the supply will decrease >>>> price will increase
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gmatdriller
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FightWithGMAT
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It is Dgmatdriller wrote:The futures market lets investors speculate on future products before they are produced. If a poor pork bellies supply is expected later, pork bellies' futures prices rise; if a bountiful pork bellies supply is expected, pork bellies futures prices fall. This morning, swineologists predicted an oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow. Thus, since sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies, prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
A) Pigs that do not consume adequate slop during the critical growth stage will not produce a full, rich product.
B) This fiscal year, pork bellies futures prices have varied more erratically compared to last year.
C) The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas.
D) Today, a press release by pork experts said that the foot-in-mouth disease decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season.
E) Investors who speculate in pork bellies futures rarely take physical possession of the pork bellies they trade.
OA after discussions, thanks.
To have prices declined, we need to have good supply of the stuff.
Author claims that the prices WILL fall.......he assumes that supply will be good.
D says that supply will not be good as it is speculated that disease will hamper the supply.
Am I correct?
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amritashwar_lal2k
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Poor port bellies supply -> rise in future prices
Plenty supply of bellies -> Fall in future prices
High influx of Slop -> Plenty supply of bellies -> Fall in future prices
As per option D,
Foot-in-mouth disease is going to spread -> no plenty supply of bellies -> No fall in future prices.
Plenty supply of bellies -> Fall in future prices
High influx of Slop -> Plenty supply of bellies -> Fall in future prices
As per option D,
Foot-in-mouth disease is going to spread -> no plenty supply of bellies -> No fall in future prices.
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seshadrivyas
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gmatdriller
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OA is D;
little prospect for supplies --> high cost of bellies pork
bright prospect for supplies --> cheap bellies pork
D speculates little prospect (diseased infection ) for supplies, so no way
to expect any cheap pork.
little prospect for supplies --> high cost of bellies pork
bright prospect for supplies --> cheap bellies pork
D speculates little prospect (diseased infection ) for supplies, so no way
to expect any cheap pork.
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tuanquang269
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gmatdriller wrote:The futures market lets investors speculate on future products before they are produced. If a poor pork bellies supply is expected later, pork bellies' futures prices rise; if a bountiful pork bellies supply is expected, pork bellies futures prices fall. This morning, swineologists predicted an oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow. Thus, since sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies, prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
C) The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas. => this answer does not make any sense that will make the price of pork bellies increase or not decrease
D) Today, a press release by pork experts said that the foot-in-mouth disease decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season. => this one is correct, making the price of quality pork bellies future will increase dramatically.
E) Investors who speculate in pork bellies futures rarely take physical possession of the pork bellies they trade. => not relevant
OA after discussions, thanks.
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nileshdalvi
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C does not weaken this enough because it says
"The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas."
The argument says that swineologists predicted slop starting tomorrow and the answer choice here says that the slop predicted for tomorrow is expected to be distributed outside. It is possible that future slop comes to the pigpen area. So, it is just for a day that the slop wont be available. This does not as strongly weaken the argument as the other condition of flu.
"The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas."
The argument says that swineologists predicted slop starting tomorrow and the answer choice here says that the slop predicted for tomorrow is expected to be distributed outside. It is possible that future slop comes to the pigpen area. So, it is just for a day that the slop wont be available. This does not as strongly weaken the argument as the other condition of flu.
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rkanthilal
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Received a PM on this one. It looks like the OA has already been disclosed as D. Below is my understanding of the question and answer choices.
P1: The futures market lets investors speculate on future products before they are produced.
P2: If a poor pork bellies supply is expected later, pork bellies' futures prices rise.
P3: If a bountiful pork bellies supply is expected, pork bellies futures prices fall.
P4: This morning, swineologists predicted an oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow.
P5: Sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies.
C1: Prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today.
Notes on Stimulus: First off, "pork bellies" are pigs. A swineologist is apparently an expert on pigs. P2 and P3 are just stating the basic law of supply and demand. If pork bellies supply is down then prices will rise (P2), and if pork bellies supply is up then prices will fall (P3). P4 and P5 combined tell you that pork bellies supply is expected to rise. This is because swineologists predict an oncoming influx of much-needed slop and because sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies. In other words, the oncoming influx of slop will result in a strong supply of fuller pork bellies in the current period.
Notice that the supply of pork bellies is determined by the total weight of the pork bellies and not the total number of pork bellies. The slop increases the weight of the pork bellies but not necessarily the number of pork bellies. This increases the supply of pork bellies because the total weight of the pork bellies (the amount of pork meat that can be obtained from slaughtering the pork bellies) has gone up.
Question Stem: Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
A) "Pigs that do not consume adequate slop during the critical growth stage will not produce a full, rich product." INCORRECT. This strengthens the argument because it confirms P4 and P5. The argument is based on the fact that a strong supply of slop results in fuller (heavier) pork bellies. This answer states that "pigs that do not consume adequate slop will not produce a full, rich product". This is consistent with the argument.
B) "This fiscal year, pork bellies futures prices have varied more erratically compared to last year." INCORRECT. This answer is not relevant to the conclusion that "prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today". The conclusion is drawn from the connection between the supply of slop and its affect on pork belly supply. The fact that prices are more volatile this year is not relevant to this argument.
C) The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas. INCORRECT. First off, the pigpen is where the pork bellies (pigs) live. This answer would appear to imply that the slop will not be distributed to the pigs. IMO there is not enough information for us to make this jump.
For example, the slop may in fact be distributed and stored well outside the pigpen areas. This does not mean that the slop will remain there. The farmer may distribute the slop from the storage area to the pigpens. This makes sense because you would not want to feed your entire shipment of slop to the pigs all at once. You would probably store it offsite and then feed it to the pigs consistently over time.
IMO this answer does not strengthen or weaken the conclusion.
D) Today, a press release by pork experts said that the foot-in-mouth disease decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season. CORRECT. This answer states that a "disease that is decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season". If the disease spreads "widely" and more pork bellies die before the start of the slaughtering season then the supply for this year's harvest will go down. Per premise P2, a drop in supply will result in a rise in prices. This is counter to the conclusion of the argument that "prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today".
This answer weakens the conclusion that "prices will decline" because it gives a reason why prices may rise.
E) Investors who speculate in pork bellies futures rarely take physical possession of the pork bellies they trade. INCORRECT. This answer is not relevant to the argument. The conclusion is that "prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today". Whether investors in the futures market take physical possession of the pork bellies does not affect the price of pork bellies. This answer has no affect on the conclusion.
P1: The futures market lets investors speculate on future products before they are produced.
P2: If a poor pork bellies supply is expected later, pork bellies' futures prices rise.
P3: If a bountiful pork bellies supply is expected, pork bellies futures prices fall.
P4: This morning, swineologists predicted an oncoming influx of much-needed slop in the pigpen regions starting tomorrow.
P5: Sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies.
C1: Prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today.
Notes on Stimulus: First off, "pork bellies" are pigs. A swineologist is apparently an expert on pigs. P2 and P3 are just stating the basic law of supply and demand. If pork bellies supply is down then prices will rise (P2), and if pork bellies supply is up then prices will fall (P3). P4 and P5 combined tell you that pork bellies supply is expected to rise. This is because swineologists predict an oncoming influx of much-needed slop and because sufficient slop is essential for the survival of a strong current supply of fuller pork bellies. In other words, the oncoming influx of slop will result in a strong supply of fuller pork bellies in the current period.
Notice that the supply of pork bellies is determined by the total weight of the pork bellies and not the total number of pork bellies. The slop increases the weight of the pork bellies but not necessarily the number of pork bellies. This increases the supply of pork bellies because the total weight of the pork bellies (the amount of pork meat that can be obtained from slaughtering the pork bellies) has gone up.
Question Stem: Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above?
A) "Pigs that do not consume adequate slop during the critical growth stage will not produce a full, rich product." INCORRECT. This strengthens the argument because it confirms P4 and P5. The argument is based on the fact that a strong supply of slop results in fuller (heavier) pork bellies. This answer states that "pigs that do not consume adequate slop will not produce a full, rich product". This is consistent with the argument.
B) "This fiscal year, pork bellies futures prices have varied more erratically compared to last year." INCORRECT. This answer is not relevant to the conclusion that "prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today". The conclusion is drawn from the connection between the supply of slop and its affect on pork belly supply. The fact that prices are more volatile this year is not relevant to this argument.
C) The slop that swineologists predict for tomorrow is only expected to be distributed well outside the pigpen areas. INCORRECT. First off, the pigpen is where the pork bellies (pigs) live. This answer would appear to imply that the slop will not be distributed to the pigs. IMO there is not enough information for us to make this jump.
For example, the slop may in fact be distributed and stored well outside the pigpen areas. This does not mean that the slop will remain there. The farmer may distribute the slop from the storage area to the pigpens. This makes sense because you would not want to feed your entire shipment of slop to the pigs all at once. You would probably store it offsite and then feed it to the pigs consistently over time.
IMO this answer does not strengthen or weaken the conclusion.
D) Today, a press release by pork experts said that the foot-in-mouth disease decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season. CORRECT. This answer states that a "disease that is decimating some of the pork bellies supply will spread widely before the start of the slaughtering season". If the disease spreads "widely" and more pork bellies die before the start of the slaughtering season then the supply for this year's harvest will go down. Per premise P2, a drop in supply will result in a rise in prices. This is counter to the conclusion of the argument that "prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today".
This answer weakens the conclusion that "prices will decline" because it gives a reason why prices may rise.
E) Investors who speculate in pork bellies futures rarely take physical possession of the pork bellies they trade. INCORRECT. This answer is not relevant to the argument. The conclusion is that "prices of pork bellies futures will decline dramatically today". Whether investors in the futures market take physical possession of the pork bellies does not affect the price of pork bellies. This answer has no affect on the conclusion.
