The benchmark December lean hog contract settled at 58.600 cents per pound after touching an all-time low of 57.425 cents, representing a 27.5% drop since late July. While meatpackers processed 493,000 hogs on Tuesday, overall slaughter volumes are down 0.9% for the year at roughly 106.2 million head. Similar demand headwinds hit the cattle complex, where December live cattle fell for a sixth consecutive session to multi-week lows despite tighter supplies.
Key points
Sluggish domestic demand is being fueled by high consumer gasoline costs alongside qualit…: Sluggish domestic demand is being fueled by high consumer gasoline costs alongside quality complaints regarding pork dryness and flavor.
International pork shipments face persistent pressure because Mexico is buying less meat…: International pork shipments face persistent pressure because Mexico is buying less meat while China manages an oversupply of domestic hogs.
Cattle markets are experiencing broad declines with year-to-date slaughterings falling 7.…: Cattle markets are experiencing broad declines with year-to-date slaughterings falling 7.1% due to tight livestock inventories.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, - Lean hog futures dropped to life-of-contract lows on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday due to anemic demand for US pork.
Demand has suffered because US consumers are being pinched by high costs for gasoline and worry that pork is dry and lacks flavor when cooked, analysts said. Exports have also been lackluster this year because China, the world's biggest pork consumer, is grappling with an oversupply of hogs and Mexico has imported less pork from the US.
CME December lean hog futures set a contract low of 57.425 cents, before ending 0.425 cent higher at 58.600 cents per pound. The contract has tumbled 27.5% since late July.
February and April 2027 hog futures set contract lows and settled weaker.
Though the US has an ample supply of hogs, poor demand was driving market losses because pork production is down this year, analysts said.
US meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 493,000 hogs on Tuesday, up 1.2% from a year earlier, according to the US Department of Agriculture. So far this year, slaughterings are down 0.9% at…
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