CME update: lean hog futures trim as packers process holiday backlogs
US lean hog futures fell on 6 January as packers work through backlogs caused by holiday shutdowns.
Reuters reports that daily hog slaughter regained from its holiday pace, with 495,000 head processed compared to 472,000 head the week prior, according to USDA data. However, the gain was still short of prior year pace.
"We’ve still got big hog numbers right now," said Dough Houghton, technical analyst at Brock Capital Management. "There’s backups from the holidays, plus we had the Columbus Junction pork plant from Tyson that was down."
Tyson Foods Inc. resumed processing today at its pork processing plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, after a 16 December shutdown due to mechanical issues.
Lean hog futures fell for a second day after four days of gains. CME February lean hogs settled down 1.150 cent at 69.775 cents per pound, its biggest slide since 11 December 2020.
