Lean hog futures drop with pork belly prices

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures slid on Thursday, as a sharp setback in pork belly prices set a negative tone for the market, Reuters reported, citing brokers.

Exchange-owner CME Group said it made an error on the final settlement price for February hog futures that it posted on Wednesday.

Futures declined for a second consecutive session under pressure from weaker pork cutout prices and profit-taking, brokers said.

Live cattle and feeder cattle futures also weakened, as a sell-off on Wall Street fueled concerns about consumer demand for meat, they said.

"The pullback in outside markets and really the soft prices for boxed beef and fresh pork have opened up the idea that it's time to take a little bit more profits," said Matthew Wiegand, commodity broker at FuturesOne in Nebraska.

April lean hog futures finished down 1.225 cents at 88.525 cents per pound, after hitting their lowest price since February 4 earlier in the session.

CME Group said it revised the final settlement price for February hogs to 89.49 cents per pound from 90.19 cents.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) quoted wholesale pork carcass cutout at $94.03 per hundredweight late on Thursday, down by $1.49 from Wednesday. The decline followed a drop of $3.95 the previous day.

Belly values tumbled by $7.46, after sinking by $16.75 per hundredweight on Wednesday.

For boxed beef, prices for choice cuts fell by $1.26 while select cuts sagged by $0.58, the USDA said.