eased to 214.49# and the year-over-year increase dropped to 9.56#. Either the heat is slowing hog gains or else hogs are being pulled forward. There is a good chance that hogs are being pulled forward. I say that because packer hogs are not more than a pound lighter than non-packer hogs. There may be a hint here that packers are rapidly bringing in their hogs to meet the Independence Day Holiday demand surge. Historically when that demand surge is met, the CME Index has a strong tendency to cool-off.

You can view the historical chart at http://murico.com/muricocgi/bbs62x/newforum.pl?page=1;md=read;id=17 . This clearly shows the tendency for the CME Index to decline after July 4th.

Best wishes,

dhm