Hogs Close Mixed on Friday
Lean hogs ended the Friday session with losses in the nearbys by 50 to 85 cents and other contracts higher in some back months. April lost $4.925 on the week. The Friday afternoon national average base hog negotiated price from the USDA was reported at $90.08, a 64 cent increase from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index continues climbing, up 24 cents on February 19 at $91.22.
Commitment of Traders data from this afternoon showed a total of 11,522 contracts added to the spec fund net long in lean hog futures and options as of 2/18. That took the net position to 114,148 contracts, the largest since Christmas.
Friday’s Export Sales report showed a total of 25,628 MT in pork sales in the week that ended on February 13, back up from last week’s low. Mexico was the top buyer of 5,700 MT, with 4,100 MT sold to Japan. Shipments of pork totaled 29,954 MT, a 4-week low. The top destination was Mexico at 12,200 MT, with 4,000 MT headed to South Korea and Japan.
The Friday afternoon FOB plant pork cutout value from USDA was back up $3.04 at $97.07 per cwt. All primals were reported higher, led by the belly, up $7.89. USDA’s Federally inspected hog slaughter for the week was estimated at 2.536 million head. That is 7,000 head above last week but down 40,946 head from the same week last year.
Apr 25 Hogs closed at $87.675, down $0.850,
May 25 Hogs closed at $91.950, down $0.500
Jun 25 Hogs closed at $100.625, up $0.325,
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 is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.