Lean Hog Futures Experience Variability Amid Weak Export Sales

Lean hog futures exhibited a mixed performance on Thursday. Specifically, the April contract fell by 97 cents, while other contracts saw an increase ranging from 37 cents to $1.50. The USDA reported the national average base hog negotiated price at $85.67 on Thursday afternoon, reflecting a decrease of 41 cents compared to the previous day. Additionally, the CME Lean Hog Index fell by 16 cents from the day before to reach $88.00 on April 8.

Export Sales Decline and Shipment Trends

The Export Sales data revealed that 23,854 metric tons (MT) of pork were sold during the week ending April 3. This figure represents less than half of the sales from the prior week and marks a three-week low. Mexico emerged as the leading buyer with 8,900 MT purchased, and Japan followed with 3,600 MT sold. Pork shipments were reported at a total of 30,100 MT, the lowest in seven weeks. Within this total, 11,700 MT was shipped to Mexico and 4,500 MT to Japan.

Pork Cutout Values and Slaughter Estimates

On Thursday afternoon, the USDA indicated that the pork cutout value decreased by another $1.06, bringing it to $89.70 per cwt. In contrast, the butt and ham primals saw price increases. The estimated hog slaughter under USDA’s inspection stood at 488,000 head for Thursday, with a cumulative total of 1.951 million head for the week so far. This week’s slaughter estimate is 34,000 head higher than last week and 39,301 head above the same week last year.

Future Contract Prices

April 25 Hogs closed at $86.000, down $0.975.

May 25 Hogs closed at $86.500, up $0.375.

June 25 Hogs closed at $93.175, up $1.475.

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

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