Lean Hog Futures Dip Lower
On the trading floor, lean hog futures faced a downward spiral during Thursday’s tumultuous session, ultimately closing approximately 40 cents above the day’s nadir. June futures took a hit, plunging by $1.32 and slipping below the elusive $100 threshold. The USDA’s National Average Afternoon Base Hog price also suffered a blow, plummeting by 94 cents to $80.30. Meanwhile, the CME Lean Hog Index for 3/19 showcased a slight improvement, gaining 39 cents to rest at $83.21.
Global Export Trends
The weekly Export Sales figures unveiled a mixed bag, with 33.8k MT of pork finding buyers for export in the week ending 3/14. This marked an uptick of 9k MT from the previous week but paled in comparison to the corresponding period last year, displaying a 10% decline. Shipments clocked in at 32k MT, contributing to a cumulative export volume of 355k MT, underscoring the fluctuating global appetite for pork products.
Market Dynamics and Performance
The USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value bore the brunt of market turbulence, shedding 10 cents due to weakening ribs, settling at $92.08 for the Thursday PM quote. Meanwhile, the week saw a swine slaughter estimate of 1.952 million heads by Thursday’s close. To contextualize, this figure surpassed last week’s count of 1.898 million and slightly edged past the 1.923 million recorded during the same period last year.
Apr 24 Hogs retreated to $84.900, down by $0.400 while May 24 Hogs slid to $89.900, marking a $1.075 drop. The pressure was evident across the board, with Apr 24 Pork Cutout also experiencing a decline to $92.425, down by $0.100.
Notably, on the day of publishing, Alan Brugler had no holdings (either direct or indirect) in any securities mentioned within this article. All data and information cited herein are intended for informational purposes only. For further details, kindly refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy.
The expressed views and opinions in this article represent the author’s perspective and do not necessarily align with those of Nasdaq, Inc.
