After a steady start to the morning, February hogs quickly turned down and continued lower throughout the day. The cash index went the other direction and was up $.43 at $64.35 and is projected to be another $.50 higher for Thursday.
The pork cutout on Wednesday was down $2.03 at $82.75, after reaching a 12 week high on Tuesday with nearly half of the days decline due to a sharp break in pork loin values. Weaker cash hog prices and stronger pork prices through the month of November lifted estimated slaughter margins last week to the best level since last January. Estimated margins at midweek are just over $18/head, though cash hog prices could turn lower into the end of the year if product prices struggle to move higher.