Futures for lean hogs on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) finished Monday's trading session in negative territory. Early optimism about potential opportunities for U.S. pork exports was ultimately overshadowed by technical selling and a broader decline in Wall Street equities, according to market traders.
Spain's Swine Fever Outbreak Creates Market Ripples
Traders were closely monitoring a confirmed outbreak of African swine fever in Spain, a global powerhouse in pork exports. The discovery of the disease in wild boar near Barcelona led several importing nations, including the major buyer China, to impose a temporary ban on Spanish pork products last Friday. This development initially sparked hopes that international buyers might turn to American suppliers to fill the gap.
However, the situation evolved rapidly. Spain's Agriculture Minister Luis Planas confirmed on Saturday that approximately one-third of the country's pork export certificates had been blocked. He emphasized that no commercial farms had yet tested positive. Operations and sales for farms within a 20-kilometer radius of the initial infection site are now under restrictions.
In a significant update on Monday, Spanish authorities received confirmation from China that pork exports could resume from regions of the country not affected by the outbreak. Market participants spent the day assessing the net impact of these fast-moving events on global trade flows.
Market Prices and Technical Pressure
The CME February lean hog contract settled at 80.300 cents per pound, a drop of 0.700 cents. After an early surge to a high of 82.125 cents, the contract reversed course. Traders attributed the late-day slide to technically driven selling, which pushed futures to their session lows.
In a spot market report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) priced pork carcasses on Monday afternoon at $94.79 per hundredweight (cwt), marking an increase of $0.57 from the previous Friday's price.
Cattle Futures Consolidate After Recent Gains
The livestock complex saw broader weakness, with cattle futures also ending the day lower. This movement represented a consolidation phase following higher closes in the previous Wednesday and Friday sessions. Traders adopted a wait-and-see approach, anticipating direction from this week's cash cattle market after last week's sales in Kansas and Texas ranged between $215 and $220 per cwt.
The CME February live cattle contract finished down 1.925 cents at 215.925 cents per pound, while the January feeder cattle contract declined by 2.900 cents to settle at 312.075 cents per pound.
The USDA reported stronger prices for beef cuts. Choice grade beef was priced at $368.89 per cwt, up $2.07 from Friday. Select cuts saw a more substantial jump, rising by $6.83 to reach $357.88 per cwt.
