Pigs Target Thursday to Recover After Wednesday's Slump
In the world of hog farming and trading, the week of October 25 saw a series of developments that shaped the stock market today. On Wednesday, the USDA's national base hog report rose by 42 cents, reaching $106.71. However, this upward trend did not reflect on the dow futures, as lean hog futures decreased by 5 cents to 60 cents on the same day. The CME Lean Hog Index followed suit, decreasing by 14 cents on September 15, to $106.00.
The federally inspected hog slaughter for Wednesday was estimated at 486,000 head. This week's total is 1.464 million head, an increase of 4,000 head from last week. Compared to the same week last year, this week's slaughter is 31,734 head higher.
The USDA's FOB plant pork cutout report on Wednesday showed a decrease, dropping by $1.30, to $110.98 per cwt. The loin and but primals were the only reported higher primals in the report.
Preliminary open interest for lean hog futures contracts increased by 2,072 contracts on Wednesday. This indicates a growing interest in the dow jones today among large pig and chicken producers, meat processors, commodity trading firms, and major agricultural exporters.
Looking back at the past few days, hog prices have been on a downward trend. On December 25, hogs closed at $87.650, down $0.575. A week earlier, on February 26, hogs closed at $89.700, down $0.500.
These market fluctuations highlight the dynamic nature of the hog industry, with various factors influencing the prices and trends. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how these trends continue to evolve in the stock market.
