December 24, 2008

US hog prices seen to increase 46 percent next year

US hog prices are seen to increase 46 percent by June 2009, as producers slaughter more breeding sows to reduce losses from rising feed costs, said Jason Britt, president of Central States Commodities Inc. in Kansas City.

Hogs rose 6.6 percent, the second-biggest gains on the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Commodity Index.

Mark Greenwood, who manages about US$1 billion of loans and leases to swine producers for AgStar Financial Services in Mankato, Minnesota said that they are going to have 3- to 4-percent less pigs next year, and that should push up pork prices.

The most-active contract closed at 61.7 cents on Dec 19 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecast hogs will jump to 75 cents in the next six months.