The thinner May and July hog contracts set new LoC highs this week, while April was up by $2.55 for the week but still ~$2 under the high for the move. Futures put up triple digit gains of $1 to $1.90 on Friday. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price was 24 cents higher on Friday afternoon to $79.94. The CME Lean Hog Index was 17c stronger for 3/13 at $82.19.
The weekly Commitment of Traders report had lean hog spec traders with a 63,679 contract net long for 3/12. That was a 1.54k contract weaker net long through the week as the fewer longs in play exceeded the reduction in shorts.
USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value increased 22 cents on Friday afternoon to $93.47, led by butts which were $4.11 higher. USDA reported pork production for the week at 533m lbs. That was up 2.7m from the week prior but was a 1.6% drop vs the same week last year. Hog slaughter was 2.47m head for the week, a 0.6% increase over last week but 1% below the same week last year.
Apr 24 Hogs closed at $86.925, up $1.900,
May 24 Hogs closed at $93.175, up $1.575
Apr 24 Pork Cutout closed at $93.150, up $0.550,
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 Disclosure Policy here.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
