Lean Hogs See Gains as Pork Shipments Rise

Lean Hog Futures Experience Steady Increases

Lean Hog futures experienced a notable rise on Friday, with prices gaining between 17 cents and $1.02. Specifically, the December contract increased by $2.175 for the week. The national average base hog negotiated price registered at $82.72 on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, the CME Lean Hog Index stood at $87.44 on November 20, reflecting a decrease of 39 cents from the previous day.

Speculation Trends Shift in Lean Hog Markets

Recent Commitment of Traders data revealed that speculators in lean hog futures and options reduced their positions by 5,371 contracts. This brought their record net long position down to 115,590 contracts as of November 19.

Pork Shipment Data Indicates Year-over-Year Growth

Year-to-date pork shipments have reached 1.475 million metric tons (MT), representing a 6.2% increase compared to the same point last year. When including unshipped sales in total commitments, figures rise to 1.654 million metric tons, showing a 1.1% increase from last year.

USDA Reports Lower Pork Cutout Values

The USDA’s free-on-board (FOB) plant pork cutout value declined on Friday, down $1.30 to $91.77 per hundredweight. Notably, the picnic primal saw an increase of $2.83; however, other cuts dropped between 74 cents and $6.68, with ribs leading the decline. Additionally, USDA estimated the weekly federally inspected (FI) hog slaughter at 2.565 million head, which is 73,000 less than the previous week but significantly higher than the Thanksgiving week last year.

Current Hog Prices for Upcoming Contracts

December 24 Hogs closed at $81.675, an increase of $0.875.

February 25 Hogs closed at $85.675, up $1.025.

April 25 Hogs closed at $89.825, rising by $0.900.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data presented here are for informational purposes only. For further information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Nasdaq, Inc.