December hogs closed 70 cents in the red on Friday, for a weekly drop of $1.35 as contract expiration draws nearer. The other front months rallied triple digits on the last trade day of the week, with Feb settling $1.92 above last Friday. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price dropped another $3.04 on Friday to $82.22. The 11/30 CME Lean Hog Index was $83.24 after a 65 cent dip.
Managed money firms added 9.6k new shorts and closed 3.2k existing longs in lean hogs through the week that ended 11/29, per the CFTC data. That left the group 41,484 contracts net long at the close – a 6-wk low.
Pork cutout futures ended with an 82 cent dip in Dec and $1.27 to $1.50 gains in the other nearbys. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout value for Friday afternoon was $88.94 after a $2.42 increase. Bellies and picnics led the way, each up by more than $10. USDA estimates the week’s FI hog slaughter at 2.59m head through Saturday. That is down 66k head from the same week last year. YTD slaughter trails last year’s pace by 2.9%.
Dec 22 Hogs closed at $82.425, down $0.700,
Feb 23 Hogs closed at $90.425, up $1.225
Dec 22 Pork Cutout closed at $89.825, down $0.825,
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.
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