Hogs were under pressure at the open and traded down through the first hour. However, a recovery effort was underway after the first hour, and futures traded up into late in the day. At the close, June through August were just above unchanged, and all hog contracts were well over the early morning lows. The hog index gained $1.13 to $74.14 and projected $.78 higher for Friday. Packers reported just 53,693 head scheduled for Saturday delivery, but were not bidding for extra loads ahead of the weekend. Negotiated trade was quoted $.81 lower on lighter volume.
Weekly pork exports were slightly above average while net sales remain slower, compared to earlier in the year. A slower sales trend has also been reported in the weekly packer sales data. Total export commitments are still holding well above a year ago, but largely due to strong early year shipments. Outstanding pork export sales through last week were 10% less than a year ago.
Our view is neutral, but summer hog futures look ready to challenge contract highs.
