Hog Futures Fade on Tuesday
The Tuesday turnaround pulled lean hog futures to net red for the week’s move as the board dropped 12c to $1.10. The April contract led the way lower and extended the April/June discount to $16.42. USDA’s National Average Afternoon Base Hog price was back up by 47 cents to $74.63. The WCB quote was at $74.56 while the ECB hogs were withheld to protect confidentiality. The CME Lean Hog Index was 11 cents higher on 2/29 to $80.26.
Nearby pork cutout futures were also weaker on the day, closing 55 to 87 cents weaker. Volume there remains thin, as April holds just 37 active contracts. The USDA national Pork Carcass Cutout Value was $1.39 weaker in the Tuesday afternoon quote, led by a $10.71 weaker price for the bellies. The quotes were $91.43 and $121.61 respectively. USDA cited Tuesday’s hog slaughter under federal inspection at 454,000 head for a week-to-date total of 947,000. That compares to last week’s 983k head and to 950k during the same week last year.
Apr 24 Hogs closed at $85.175, down $1.100,
May 24 Hogs closed at $91.575, down $0.400
Apr 24 Pork Cutout closed at $92.500, down $0.875,
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.