Pork Futures: Hogs Lower
US - Lean hog futures closed mostly lower. Nearby December ended unchanged at 55.60 cents per pound. February hogs closed 25 points lower at 62.57 cents.Traders were reluctant to buy futures due to the premiums already built into board prices, which limited the gains that were posted earlier in the session.
At the same time, reports of steady to firm cash prices kept the nearby and winter to early spring contracts from sliding much, said a broker. The range in the changes in closing prices through the first five contracts was from 17 points higher in April to 25 points lower in February.
The deferred months declined further on speculative and hedge selling. The deep deferred December 2008 contract at the close carries a 12.12-cent premium to the nearby December contract, and this spread has narrowed from 16.20 cents on Nov. 19.
Technical resistance at the 40-day moving average also capped the gains in the nearby December hog contract, an analyst said.
There was scattered buying in December hogs in the final hour. Rosenthal-Collins and Fimat were sellers in December but buyers in February hogs. Rosenthal also was a late seller of February hogs along with locals.