Pork Futures: Most Hogs End Up

Pork bellies closed higher and May and July finished limit up. Live cattle ended uneven and feeder cattle settled steady to moderately higher.

Lean hogs traded in directionless fashion throughout most of the session due to periods of profit-taking versus short covering. Bullish fundamentals sparked buying into periodic declines while market uncertainty triggered selling into up ticks.

Meanwhile, deferred hog contracts were slow to respond to Chicago Board of Trade corn's advances throughout the morning.

Ultimately, spot April ended in line with expectations about where the contract and CME's two-day hog index would converge. And nearby June, which immediately assumed lead-month status, benefited from spreads and short covering despite the contract's bearish premium to the exchange's index.

Nonetheless, country hog buyers anticipate steady to firm cash hog bids for Tuesday. A few processors are expected to string together animals before field conditions improve for planting season.

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