Midday Lean Hog Futures Show Mixed Trends Amid Export Decline

Lean hog futures displayed mixed results at midday, with contracts ranging from 15 to 35 cents lower, while July futures increased by 50 cents. As of Thursday morning, the USDA’s national average base hog negotiated price rose to $94.654, reflecting an increase of $2.23. Additionally, the CME Lean Hog Index noted a slight uptick of 3 cents on May 6, reaching $90.16.

Export Sales Dip in Recent Week

In the week ending May 1, the USDA reported total pork exports of 24,228 metric tons (MT), a decrease from the previous week. Notably, Mexico accounted for 9,900 MT of these sales, followed by Japan with 3,500 MT. Shipment totals fell to 25,573 MT, marking the second-lowest figure this year. Among these, 11,000 MT was scheduled for Japan, totaling 4,400 MT.

Pork Cutout Value and Slaughter Estimates

The Thursday morning FOB plant pork cutout value saw a decrease of 82 cents per hundredweight (cwt) on a carcass basis, settling at $94.72. While the picnic and ham primals reported gains, federally inspected hog slaughter was estimated at 471,000 head for Wednesday, contributing to a weekly total of 1.438 million head. This figure indicates a decline of 17,000 head compared to the prior week, but is still 5,194 head higher than the same week last year.

Current Hog Futures Prices

May 25 Hogs are priced at $90.800, down $0.350.

Jun 25 Hogs are priced at $97.175, down $0.150.

Jul 25 Hogs are priced at $99.975, up $0.500.

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

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