Lean hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) experienced a pullback on Wednesday, driven by profit-taking following a seven-session climb to contract highs, according to analysts. The most actively traded June hogs set a contract high for the fourth consecutive session before reversing course, with the market having already surged by 7% this month by the close of trading on Tuesday.
Broker StoneX noted that the industry has been gradually acknowledging improved demand since last fall, with demand becoming a prominent topic of discussion in the past two months.
CME June hogs concluded the session down 3.025 cents at 105.550 cents per pound as the market retreated. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that average hog weights in Iowa, southern Minnesota, and South Dakota increased to 288 pounds in the week ended April 6, compared to 287.1 pounds a week earlier and 287.4 pounds a year ago. Additionally, meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 489,000 hogs, slightly down from 491,000 a week ago but up from 477,494 a year ago.
In the cattle market, CME June live cattle settled down 2 cents at 172.850 cents per pound, while May feeder cattle futures fell 2.925 cents to 236.525 cents per pound.
Traders also monitored the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, in U.S. dairy cattle, with North Carolina becoming the seventh U.S. state to detect the virus in a dairy herd. While infections have not been confirmed in beef cattle, authorities are working to develop protocols to address the situation.