Lean Hog Prices Retreat as Weekly Trends Show Mixed Signals

Market Snapshot: Lean Hog Prices Decline Ahead of the Weekend

Lean Hog prices are facing a dip as the weekend approaches, with contracts slipping by 45 cents to $1.10 at midday. The national average base hog negotiated price fell to $82.87 on Friday morning, down $4.31 from the previous day. The CME Lean Hog Index also decreased, reporting $89.78 on November 13, a decline of 16 cents from the day before.

Export Numbers Show Fluctuations in Pork Sales

According to Weekly Export Sales data, net sales of pork reached 19,825 metric tons (MT) during the week of November 7. However, export shipments decreased from last week’s 26-week high, falling to 31,087 MT.

Pork Cutout Value Rises Amid Slaughter Estimates

The USDA reported an increase in the FOB plant pork cutout value in the Friday morning update, rising by $4.45 to $98.52 per hundredweight (cwt). All primals experienced price increases, with the belly rebounding sharply by $22.12 after a previous drop. Additionally, USDA estimated Thursday’s federally inspected (FI) hog slaughter at 488,000 head, bringing the total for the week thus far to 1.924 million head. Notably, this figure is 28,000 head lower than last week’s total but shows an increase of 2,343 head compared to the same week last year.

Current Hog Futures

Dec 24 Hogs are priced at $79.625, down $0.475.

Feb 25 Hogs are trading at $82.900, down $0.875.

Apr 25 Hogs is listed at $87.100, down $1.025.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold positions, either directly or indirectly, 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 Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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