Hog futures fell, heading for the first weekly drop in a month, on signs of increasing U.S. pork supplies amid slumping demand. Cattle declined.
Hog carcasses averaged 209.66 pounds (95.1 kilograms) on Jan. 5, up 3.3 percent in the past year, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. On Nov. 26, the average weight was 209.88 pound, the heaviest since at least 2002. U.S. pork exports have declined from year-earlier levels for four straight months, the USDA said.
“We’ve got poor exports, and there’s fear that weights are going to stay high,” said Paul Beere, a market adviser at Prime Agricultural Consultants Inc. in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
