Lean hog futures sold off for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday amid continued profit-taking. April lean hogs traded $1.60 lower to close at $93.90 per cwt., hitting the lowest level in about a month. The break below the $95 level drove additional technical selling on Tuesday. The next major support area is likely the $90 level.

Despite the sharp decline in futures, cash hogs were sharply higher on Wednesday, as packers stepped up their procurement efforts. The Iowa/Minnesota and Western Cornbelt were $3.43 higher with a weighted average of $88.35 per cwt. The CME Lean Hog Index showed that cash hog prices remained above year-ago levels despite recent weakness.

Pork prices continued to chop sideways this week, pinning cutout values below year-ago levels. There still seems to be decent demand for U.S. pork despite weaker prices.

The USDA raised its 2026 pork production forecast to 28.29 billion pounds in its February WASDE report on Tuesday, up 60 million from the January forecast. The increase was due to higher slaughter and slightly heavier dressed weights for the first half of the year based on slaughter data.

The export forecast was also raised to a record 7.135 billion pounds due to larger available supplies and improved competitiveness.

—

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.