By Kirk Maltais
Total inventories of hogs in the U.S. are slightly higher through the first quarter of this year versus this time last year, the Department of Agriculture said.
In its latest quarterly Hogs and Pigs report released Thursday, the USDA said that total hog inventories were 74.6 million head, up 1% from the first quarter of 2023. Ahead of the report, analysts had forecast that inventories would stay generally flat.
The U.S. breeding inventory totaled 6.02 million head for the quarter, which is down 2% from this time last year. Market hog inventories totaled 68.6 million head, which is up 1% from last year.
Most-active lean hog futures trading on the CME finished the day down 0.2%, to $1.014 a pound. Live cattle finished up 1.1%, to $1.8055 a pound.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-28-24 1535ET
