Hogs Close Mixed on Thursday

February hog futures stood out on Thursday with a $1 loss. The other front month futures ended the day within 22 cents of UNCH. That widened the Feb discount to now $7.47 below April and $13.35 under May. USDA’s National Average Base hog price for Thursday was $66.33 after a 26 cent bump. The CME Lean Hog Index from 1/11 was 7 cents weaker at $75.16  

FAS Export Sales data showed 19,805 MT of pork was sold during the week that ended 1/6. Finishing the 2021 export program, the weekly data suggests 1.792 MMT of pork was exported. That was the 2nd most on record and just 7.5% below the 2020 record. Exports for the ’22 program are starting at 20,507 MT through the first week of data. 

Pork cutout futures closed red with losses limited to 42 cents for the nearbys. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value was $10.82 stronger to $95.28 on Thursday. The hams alone were up by $29 cwt. while loins also increased $12.05. Federally inspected hog slaughter was estimated at 1.790m head for the week through Thursday. That is 63k head below last year and 186k head below the same week last year.

Feb 22 Hogs  closed at $77.850, down $1.000,

Apr 22 Hogs  closed at $85.325, down $0.075

Feb 22 Pork Cutout  closed at $90.575, down $0.150,