Hogs Bouncing into Tuesdays Midday

So far for Tuesday lean hog futures have firmed up for midday, but still trading within 20 cents of UNCH. April hogs are the laggard on the midday bounce, still showing a 42 cent loss. The National Average Base Hog price was 63 cents higher on Monday afternoon to $102.20. The 3/10 CME Lean Hog Index was up by another 85 cents to $100.76. 

USDA approved faster processing speeds at 3 pork production plants as part of a trial program for an industry wide measure. The plants were Clemens Food Group in PA, Quality Pork Processors in MN, and Wholesome Farms Coop in NE. 

China is set to buy domestic pork for state reserves, which would be the third purchase, citing weak domestic prices.

Pork cutout futures are trading mostly lower with 22 to 62 cent losses, the July contract is the outlier on a 20 cent bounce. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value was 64 cents higher in the PM update to $103.19. Hams were down by $12.48, while bellies were up by $11.08. USDA estimated Monday’s hog slaughter at 479k head. Last week’s Monday slaughter was 467k head and the same week last year was 482k head. 

Apr 22 Hogs  are at $101.800, down $0.400,

May 22 Hogs  are at $110.100, down $0.200

Apr 22 Pork Cutout  is at $107.650, down $0.225,