Lean hog futures were falling on Thursday, as contracts lost $1.70 to 2.77 in the nearbys. Open interest suggested longs liquidating, down 4,453 contracts. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $92.80 on Thursday afternoon, down 49 cents from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was another 7 cents higher on March 17 at $91.93.
Export Sales data showed new pork business of 28,284 MT in the week that ended on 3/12, up 19.2% from the week prior. Mexico was the top buyer of 7,500 MT, with 5,700 MT sold to South Korea. Shipments were at a 4-week low of 35,674 MT in that week. Of that total, 15,200 MT was headed to Mexico, with 4,500 MT to Japan.
USDA’s pork carcass cutout value from the Thursday PM report was down 72 cents at $98.10 per cwt. The ham, belly, and butt primals were reported lower. USDA estimated the Thursday federally inspected hog slaughter at 492,000 head, with the weekly total at 1.879 million head. That is 89,000 head below last week and 78,103 head above the same week last year.
Apr 26 Hogs closed at $92.050, down $1.700,
May 26 Hogs closed at $96.050, down $2.650
Jun 26 Hogs closed at $104.750, down $2.775,
