Lean Hog Futures Rise as Pork Market Shows Mixed Signals

Lean hog futures experienced slight gains on Thursday, with contracts increasing by 7 to 25 cents. Notably, the June contract rose $4.70 this week. However, the USDA did not report the national average base hog negotiated price Thursday afternoon, leaving the 5-day rolling average at $84.74. Additionally, the CME Lean Hog Index decreased by another 28 cents from the previous day to reach $85.09 on April 15. It’s worth noting that markets will be closed on Good Friday.

Export Sales and Shipment Overview

According to this morning’s Export Sales report, only 20,548 metric tons (MT) of pork were sold in the week ending April 10, marking a 4-week low. Japan led the purchases with 7,100 MT, while Mexico bought 3,200 MT. Shipments totaled 30,934 MT, showing an uptick from the previous week. Among them, 11,100 MT were sent to Mexico, and 5,300 MT went to South Korea.

Pork Cutout Report and Slaughter Estimates

Thursday morning’s pork cutout report from the USDA noted a 74-cent increase, bringing the value to $92.78. While the loin and butt primals reported lower prices, bellies saw a significant rise, up $6.28. The slaughter of federally inspected hogs for Thursday was estimated at 475,000 head, concluding the week-to-date total at 1.937 million head. This reflects a decline of 14,000 head from last week but is 1,016 head higher than the same week last year.

Lean Hog Futures Closing Prices

The following are the closing prices for the lean hog futures:

• May 25 Hogs: Closed at $90.400, up $0.250
• Jun 25 Hogs: Closed at $98.025, up $0.075
• Jul 25 Hogs: Closed at $98.100, up $0.200

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold any positions in the securities mentioned in this article, either directly or indirectly. The information contained is for informational purposes only. For more details, please refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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