Tuesday’s lean hog futures market pushed triple digits lower with $1.12 to $1.40 losses past the May. The thinner April and May contracts ended the session 32 and 47 cents in the red on Tuesday. Open interest in April hogs dropped to 18,824 contracts. May has only 2,638 open. The National Average Base Hog price was $70.59 on Tuesday afternoon, down by 33 cents. The ECB quote was $69.98 and the WCB was $71.94 on Tuesday. The 4/7 CME Lean Hog Index was down another 24 cents to $72.64.
The updated quarterly pork production estimates are for larger output in Q1 and 2, but reduced production in Qs 3 and 4. USDA raised Q1-2 a net 160m lbs, but cut the back half by 210m. On net USDA sees 2023 pork production at 27.36b lbs.
Pork cutout futures closed Tuesday at $0.35 to $1.50 losses – though the April contract saw no volume on the day. USDA’s Pork Carcass Cutout value was $77.46 on Tuesday afternoon, up by 40 cents. USDA estimated Tuesday’s FI hog slaughter at 485k head. That sets the week-to-date pace at 830k head, compared to 966k last week and 945k head during the same week last year.
Apr 23 Hogs closed at $73.050, down $0.325,
May 23 Hogs closed at $82.375, down $0.475
May 23 Pork Cutout closed at $87.150, down $1.100,
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.
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