US hog futures slip on sluggish demand for pork

Hog futures fell for the first time in three sessions on speculation that meatpackers are buying fewer animals as the high cost of pork slows retail demand for the meat.

On Monday (May 10), slaughterhouses processed 373,000 hogs, down 4.1% than a week earlier, USDA data show. Wholesale-pork prices are down 0.9% since reaching a 20-month high two weeks ago, according to the department.

Hog futures for June settlement dropped 0.975 cent, or 1.1%, to 84.875 cents a pound at 9:40 a.m. on the CME. Earlier, the most-active contract increased 26% in the past year as US producers cut herd sizes and pork demand recovered from the recession and the AH1N1 flu outbreak.

The price of hogs for immediate delivery at slaughterhouses sank 1.5% on Monday to 84.28 cents a pound, the lowest this month, USDA data show. Wholesale prices have dropped for two straight weeks and were at 89.85 cents a pound, down from 90.71 cents on April 26.

Meanwhile, cattle futures for June delivery fell 0.525 cent, or 0.5%, to 96.175 cents a pound on the CME. Feeder-cattle futures for August settlement declined 0.675 cent, or 0.6%, to US$1.1525 a pound.