Hogs Drop on Signs of Rising U.S. Pork Supplies; Cattle Decline

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Hog prices fell the most in more than two weeks on signs of increasing U.S. pork supplies. Cattle futures dropped.

U.S. meatpackers processed 2.34 million hogs in the week through Oct. 8, up 4 percent from the prior week, government data show. Carcasses averaged 205.47 pounds (93.2 kilograms) on Sept. 30, a 16-week high, according to the Department of Agriculture. Weights may rise further because fresh corn will be available for livestock feed as the U.S. harvest progresses, said Jason Golly, a vice president of risk-management marketing at Lynch Livestock Inc.

“We can’t keep going through these big Saturday kills like this,” Golly said in a telephone interview from Waucoma, Iowa. “There’s concern seasonally that we’re topping this market out. These hogs are going to get new corn, which really puts on weight.”

Hog futures for December settlement dropped 1.8 percent to settle at 87.75 cents a pound at 1 p.m. on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the biggest loss for the most-active contract since Sept. 22. The commodity has gained 10 percent this year.

Spot-market hog prices fell 0.5 percent to 92.85 cents a pound on Oct. 7, the first drop in seven sessions, USDA data show. Prices are down 11 percent from $1.0408 reached on Aug. 4, which was the highest since at least April 2003. Wholesale-pork prices lost 0.4 percent to 97.65 cents a pound last week, the first decline in a month, the USDA said.

Cattle futures for December delivery declined 1.2 percent to settle at $1.2035 a pound in Chicago after reaching $1.2025, the lowest since Sept. 30. The price has climbed 11 percent this year.

Feeder-cattle futures for November settlement rose 0.5 percent to $1.43125 a pound.

--Editors: Millie Munshi, Patrick McKiernan

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