Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose 2.1 per cent on Thursday, with the front-month contract hitting its highest in six months on strength in the cash market, traders said.
April lean hog futures gained 2.175 cents, to 107.575 cents/lb., hitting a new contract high and briefly topping the high end of its 20-day Bollinger range.
The front-month contract topped out at 108.075 cents, its highest since Aug. 13.
The number of hogs slaughtered fell to 465,000 head, down 13,000 from Wednesday and 8,000 lower than a week ago, the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) said.
Both live cattle futures and feeder cattle futures were weaker.
April live cattle dipped 0.15 cent to 146.775 cents/lb. March feeder cattle fell 1.25 cents to 166.2 cents/lb.
Cattle slaughter held steady at 122,000 head. A week ago, the cattle slaughter was reported at 123,000 head.
USDA said on Thursday morning that weekly export sales of pork rose to 18,300 tonnes in the week ended Feb. 10 from 18,100 tonnes a week earlier.
Beef export sales totaled 23,000 tonnes, up from 19,500 tonnes in the prior week.
— Reporting for Reuters by Mark Weinraub in Chicago.
