Pork Futures: Hogs Finish Lower

Live cattle finished generally weak, feeder cattle ended higher and pork bellies settled up sharply.

Profit-taking and worries about board premiums to CME's hog index hurt pork futures at the start. Spot-June and nearby-July's overbought Relative Strength Index conditions and foundering calculated pork packer profit margins were also reasons given by traders for lean hog's initial declines.

Institutional liquidation surfaced after June drifted below 100-day moving average support. And, July's downward momentum gained speed on fund selling that also tripped sell stops.

Nevertheless, spot-June selling abated when the contract approached the 10-day moving average support mark. What's more, much-stronger-than expected midday direct cash hog prices lifted June from session lows and back above the 100-day moving average.

Nearby-July stabilized when it matched Tuesday's 76.02-cent low. July was also the long side of spreads out of June and October.

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