Hogs were ~10 cents off their daily lows for 7 to 32 cent losses. Futures were initially higher for the Tuesday session on the tight Cold Storage numbers, having traded up by as much $1.05 for the session highs. April finished the day as the outlier with a 42 cent gain. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price was $80.63 after a 54 cent drop. The CME Lean Hog Index was $83.48 after an 11 cent drop.
USDA will release their quarterly Hogs & Pigs report on Thursday afternoon. Traders expect shrinkage in the Kept for breeding category, with estimates between 95.2 and 98% of year ago. That is offset by higher productivity, with pigs per litter estimates up 3.4% from last year. The market hog and all hog numbers are seen at or slightly above year ago.
NASS reported February pork stocks were the tightest since 1997. The Cold Storage report put belly stocks at 63.8 million lbs for Feb.
USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value dropped by 41 cents to $95.33. USDA estimated the week’s FI hog slaughter at 974k head for the week which compares to 972k last week and 965k for the same week last year.
Apr 24 Hogs closed at $85.575, up $0.425,
May 24 Hogs closed at $91.750, down $0.175
Apr 24 Pork Cutout closed at $93.950, up $0.000,
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