Weekly Purcell Agricultural Commodity Market Report Wayne D. Purcell Agricultural and Applied Economics Virginia Tech

Monday's trading range on December lean hogs was wide and the close was well off the highs. The market came back on Tuesday, closing up $1.40 and continuing to show strength.

Pork exports to Japan continue to be robust and this is going to continue until the beef shipments are allowed again.

That may take some time in the face of yet another case of BSE in Japan that was announced recently. We have a major uptrend line across the late May, late August, and mid October lows on this December lean hog chart.

The contract high is $71.80 and I would sell a rally that gets close to that high if we see that type of price move before a close below the trend line.

Use the line as a safety net and set short hedges on a close below that line if we do not see a rally toward the highs before the break of the trend line.