12/19/17 was down -$0.43 and the model projects that the component on yesterday's kill will drop between -0.35 and -0.60. With their lower bids, packers purchased 86.1% of the moving average daily purchases of total hogs and 90.2% of the moving average of index hogs.

After making my earlier post, I began thinking about the declining carcass weights and the possibility that producers have now become quite current in their shipments. If that is the case, it could be setting the stage for the GGGs to make a nice rally early next year which is often what happens. So when the GGGs dipped after trying to open higher, I bought a pair at 66.875. I didn't buy them with the idea of taking them to cash settlement. That is a long, long way off in terms of futures trading. But the seasonal tendency for the GGGs to rally is strong enough that I might. At least I won't be jumping at shadows to take a loss if they dip a little.

Best wishes,

dhm