Pork Futures: Hogs End Up Sharply

Pork bellies closed moderately higher while live and feeder cattle posted respectable gains.

Lean hogs surged on the open driven by Tuesday's pork cutout advances and higher cash calls. "Window dressing" on the part of a couple of major players before the end of the month hastened advances, a trader said.

Furthermore, the sharp runup in electronic-CME hogs and subsequent outcry rally caused nervous shorts to cover positions.

And, spot-June and nearby-July's steep rise lifted deferred hog contracts despite Chicago Board of Trade corn that unraveled later in the session.

Country hog buyers anticipate mostly steady to firm cash hog bids for Thursday. Processors will continue to ignore unsatisfactory calculated packer profit margins as long as pork cutouts continue to hold up, a broker said.

Sign up for our
regular news updates

Latest Pig Industry News

•   Intervet / Schering Plough Animal Health at VIV Europe in Moscow.
•   Pig Industry Gets Royal Backing
•   Federal Cull Program Moves to Phase II
•   LMPR Law Creates Transparency and Accuracy
•   Record Setting Texas Ag Goes Through the Roof
•   Legal Defense Tries to Stop Animal ID in it's Tracks
•   Management Helps Maximize Value of Livestock Manure
•   Meeting to Merge Pig Industry with Other Sectors
•   Decline in Pork Output Expected
•   Retailers' Failure Causes Heavy Losses