Aside from the October contract’s 5c gain, front month hogs are trading 17 to 50 cents in the red for a turnaround Tuesday. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price was a nickel weaker to $77.54. The CME Lean Hog Index was 9 cents lower to $87.08 on 9/21.
Trade estimates are surfacing for Thursday’s USDA quarterly Hogs & Pigs report. The industry in general is expecting further downsizing of the hog herd, both breeding herd and market hogs, with the average of trade guesses we have seen so far down 1% for the former. If the All Hogs number is down 0.7%, that will be the fewest hogs since 2017.
Pork stocks in cold storage at the end of August were tallied at 471.09 million lbs. That was down 13.18% compared to the August 2022 NASS figure and slightly above the July total.
Pork cutout futures are also 7 to 50 cents weaker in the front months. The USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value for Monday afternoon was $1.60 higher. USDA estimated Monday’s FI hog slaughter at 469k head. That is down from 485k last week and 484k during the same week last year.
Oct 23 Hogs are at $81.575, up $0.050,
Dec 23 Hogs are at $72.100, down $0.425
Oct 23 Pork Cutout is at $92.250, down $0.500,
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.
/A%20Palantir%20sign%20displayed%20on%20an%20office%20building%20by%20Poetra_RH%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)