Pork Futures: April-July Hogs Surge; Others Up From Lows
CHICAGO - Chicago Mercantile Exchange April-through-July hogs closed higher Friday on late-session short covering, June/July and July/October bull spreading and positioning on the last trading day of the month and before the U.S. Department of Agriculture's quarterly hog report on Friday at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT).
31 March 2007
2 minute read
Far-month hog contracts were under heavy pressure throughout most of the morning following Chicago Board of Trade corn's 20-cent-per-bushel limit drop. However, pork futures were freed from session lows just minutes before settlement with help from speculative bargain hunters.
Spot April closed up 35 points at 63.85 cents a pound.
Actively traded June closed 132 points higher at 75.40 cents.
Lean hogs dipped on the open after pork cutouts on Thursday reclaimed most, if not all, of what it gave on Wednesday. Thinly traded terminal and Missouri direct hog markets were quoted steady to up $1.00 per hundredweight, but that was not enough to offset CBOT corn's collapse orchestrated by USDA's planting intentions figures.
Nevertheless, front-month hogs clawed their way to the plus side of the ledger amid talk of building packer demand for supplies. Country hog buyers anticipate at least steady money from processors on Monday as packers fill near-term slaughter needs before curtailing plant operations as the Good Friday/Easter holidays approach.
Source: FXSTREET.com
