Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures rose for the fourth straight trading session on Monday, as the market continued to see support from a government report last week that showed smaller-than-expected national inventory numbers, traders said.
Most-active February hog futures settled the day up 0.425 cent at 83.65 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Earlier in the session, the contract traded at 84.65 cents/lb., the highest since Nov. 26.
April hogs ended the day up 1.075 cents at 87.725 cents/lb.
Traders said they were focused on last week’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hogs and pigs quarterly report, which said the U.S. hog herd totaled 74.2 million head on Dec. 1, down four per cent from a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the herd would be 2.9 per cent smaller.
Read Also
Alberta crop conditions improve: report
Varied precipitation and warm temperatures were generally beneficial for crop development across Alberta during the week ended July 8, according to the latest provincial crop report released July 11.
Investors were paying attention to the U.S. hog inventory, too, which was down four per cent from a year earlier according to USDA, Karl Setzer, commodity risk analyst for AgriVisor, said in an analyst note on Monday.
“Data also indicated US hog litters were smaller than a year ago, which could further tighten the US pork supply in future months,” Setzer said.
On Monday, USDA quoted the U.S. pork cutout at $86.33 per hundredweight (cwt), down $5.14 from Thursday.
In the beef markets, cattle futures were mixed on Monday, as traders anticipated steady-to-heavier buying of cash cattle by meat packers this week.
“The packers are buying for a full kill next week,” said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities. “Just because it’s the holidays, the plants are still running, the grocery stores still need to be stocked and people are still eating.”
CME February live cattle futures settled down 0.35 cent at 139.275 cents/lb. CME March feeder cattle fell 0.475 cent, to 163.275 cents.
— P.J. Huffstutter reports on agriculture and agribusiness for Reuters from Chicago.
