Download PDF Well, it finally happened. The pork cutout came to life this week, adding $4.35 to average $100.18. That is the biggest increase in the cutout in over a year. The sharp gains were driven by the perfect storm of hams and bellies both moving higher at the same time. Both were on our …
Download PDF After watching their margin compress over the past few weeks, pork packers finally got some good news as cash hog prices eased while the cutout moved higher. I estimate this week’s margin near $6.50/head, up about $4 from the week before. The cutout added $1.26 on a weekly average basis as it moved …
Download PDF Pork packing margins continued to compress this week as the cutout dropped while negotiated hog prices were a little higher. The cutout lost $1.72/cwt. on a weekly average basis on its way to $94.57. That was the first sub-$95 weekly average since the end of March. The NDD negotiated market averaged $1.66 higher …
Download PDF Packer margins came under pressure this week as the cutout dropped and cash hog prices were a little higher. On a weekly average basis, the cutout was down $2.01 to $96.29 while the NDD negotiated market was $1.06 higher to $88.54. That left packer margins at only $5/head—a three-dollar drop from the week …
Download PDF The pork cutout went on the defensive this week as price weakness in the bellies and loins helped the cutout lose $1.99 on a weekly average basis in moving to $98.30. Cash hog markets were mostly steady as the WCB negotiated price lost only $0.20/cwt. on its way to averaging $87.54. That caused …
Download PDF Stagnant continues to be the best description of the price action in the hog and pork complex. The cutout lost $0.53 on a weekly average basis in moving to $100.29 and the NDD negotiated market added only $0.20 this week. The lean hog index averaged $0.40 lower on the week and settlement on …
Download PDF Cash hog markets remained dead in the water this week, with negotiated hogs in the National Direct market averaging $87.43, down $0.36 from last week’s average. The cutout didn’t fare any better, down $1.77 on a weekly average basis to $100.82. As a result, packer margins compressed back down to $10/head from about …
Download PDF Cash hog prices were dead in the water this week as the NDD market only added $0.31 on its way to averaging $87.79 for the week. The cutout, however, showed some signs of life gaining $2.51 to average $102.59. The upward movement in the cutout was driven primarily by the hams and, to …
Download PDF It is fairly typical for the pork market to be heating up in May as Memorial Day approaches, but this year seems to be different. The cutout actually declined this week, dropping $1.28/cwt. to average $100.07. The negotiated hog markets were softer too, with the WCB dropping $2.06 on its way to averaging …
Download PDF After three weeks, where it was stalled at $98, the pork cutout regained some upward momentum this week, averaging $101.35. That feat was accomplished largely due to gains in belly prices, although the hams also provided support. The surprising feature of this week’s market was that negotiated hog prices did not follow the …