Hog Futures Rise Amid Declining USDA Prices and Inventory Expectations

On Wednesday, lean hog futures saw gains ranging from 30 to 90 cents across the majority of contracts. The USDA reported the national average base hog negotiated price at $88.19, reflecting a decline of $0.46 from the previous day. Additionally, the CME Lean Hog Index for March 24 increased by 11 cents, reaching $88.90.

Upcoming Hogs & Pigs Data

Traders are looking ahead to the Hogs & Pigs data, scheduled for release tomorrow afternoon. A Reuters survey anticipates a total inventory number of 75.587 million head as of March 1, representing a 1.2% increase from last year. This growth is expected to be primarily due to an increase in the marketing number, which is projected to rise by 1.1% to 69.431 million head, along with a 0.2% increase in breeding hogs, estimated at 6.028 million head.

USDA Pork Cutout and Slaughter Numbers

In other market news, Wednesday afternoon’s FOB plant pork cutout from the USDA stood at $95.65 per cwt, a decrease of $1.90. Notably, the belly segment led the decline with a $6.16 drop, while only the butt and picnic cuts reported increases. The USDA estimated that Wednesday’s federally inspected hog slaughter reached 487,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 1.45 million head. This figure marks an increase of 117,000 head from the previous week but is 236 head lower than the same week last year.

Closing Prices for Hog Futures

The closing prices for hog futures on April 25 were as follows:

April 25 Hogs: closed at $87.550, up $0.900

May 25 Hogs: closed at $89.525, up $0.475

June 25 Hogs: closed at $96.550, up $0.300

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold any positions in the mentioned securities. All data in this article is for informational purposes only. For more information, please review 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.