Hog Futures Fall as U.S. Pork Demand Seen Slowing; Cattle Drop

Hog futures fell for the second straight session amid speculation that demand for pork is weak. Cattle slipped to an eight-month low.

The cost of hogs for immediate delivery to slaughterhouses has tumbled 16 percent since the start of February to 72.82 cents a pound, the lowest since Nov. 19, and wholesale-pork prices are down 8.9 percent, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Meatpackers processed an estimated 23.3 million hogs this year through March 16, down 1.4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the USDA.

“The perception right now is that pork demand is very poor,” Dennis Smith, an analyst at Archer Financial Services, said in a telephone interview.

Hog futures for June settlement dropped 0.2 percent to 89.175 cents a pound at 9:54 a.m. on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, down 2.5 percent this month.

Cattle futures for June delivery fell percent to $1.21175 a pound on the CME, after touching $1.21075, the lowest for the most-active contract since July 18.

Feeder-cattle futures for May settlement dropped 0.1 percent to $1.40875 a pound in Chicago.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Campbell in Chicago at ecampbell14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net