Limited trade was reported for the day with most participants testing the market due to high volatility on the CME.

For the week ending July 15th, 2023, hog slaughter is forecasted at 2.325 million head, a 1.5-percent increase from 2022 and a 1.5-percent rise from last week. According to the USDA Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection for June 24th, average live weights were at 282 pounds. Over the next six weeks, hog slaughter is expected to average 2.371 million head per week, around half a percent from 2021 and 2022 levels for the respective time.

Based on the Estimated Weekly Meat Production from the USDA, hog slaughter for the week ending July 22nd was at 2.316 million head, down 0.5 percent, or 21,000 head, from the respective week in 2022. Year-to-date hog slaughter is currently at 69.725 million head, up 1.2 percent from 2022 for the same time.

Fig. 1

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