Hog Futures Closed Mixed into the 3-Day Weekend

Front month hog futures were mixed at the bell on Friday. Nearby contracts fell 27 to 97 cents, while the summer months settled 52 to 60 cents higher on the day. For the week, Feb ended 12 cents lower. June hogs closed a net 42 cents higher wk/wk and set a new contract high. Lean hog futures are lower in Feb and April contracts, while the deferred months are adding 2 to 52 cents to the upside. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price for Friday AM was 76 cents weaker to $75.11. The 12/28 CME Lean Hog Index was $80.74 after another 5c increase.  

Weekly CFTC data showed managed money rolled 7.9k contracts from short to long, extending their net long 15.8k contracts to a 5-wk high of 52,248. 

China’s sow herd was reported at 43.88m head for November, up by 0.2% from the prior month. The overall herd expanded 2.1% yr/yr in November with data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 

USDA reported 45,663 MT of pork was sold for export during the week that ended 12/22. That came via 15k MT for 2022 delivery and 30.5k MT for 2023. Mexico was the top buyer for both 2022 and 2023 sales with 60% and 39% of the respective totals. Pork export commitments for 2022 were 1.603 MMT as of 12/22 – down by 15% yr/yr with 2 weeks of reporting left. Forward sales for 2023 totaled 69.6k MT, a 23% lag from last year’s pace. 

Pork cutout futures closed 2 cents lower in the back months and $1.15 lower in the Feb. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout value for Friday afternoon was 2 cents higher at $87.90. Federally inspected hog slaughter for the week through Saturday is estimated at 2.186m head. That set the yearly total at 124.673m head. was reported as 991,000 head for the week through Wednesday. 

Feb 23 Hogs  closed at $87.700, down $0.975,

Apr 23 Hogs  closed at $95.300, down $0.400

Feb 23 Pork Cutout  closed at $94.075, down $1.150,