1/15/18 was up 1.00 to 72.56. The GGGs are now trading premium to the component by 0.69. The "Gap" has really closed a lot in the last couple of weeks with a lot of the closure coming from escalating hog prices.

The six-day moving average carcass weight dropped to 214.46# this morning. That is +1.26# yr/yr. Packer hogs were heavier than non-packer hogs by 1.96# but packer hogs dropped nearly 3/4# and non packer hogs were lighter by nearly 2/3#. I find myself wondering, "Why did the weights drop so much?"
Was it because hogs don't gain as well in the cold weather?

Or are producers running a bit short on market ready hogs to ship?

The fact that packers have been bidding higher has me thinking maybe there are not quite as many hogs as implied by the last H&P report.

I'm still a bit long the GGGs and have been able to take a few of the long K/M and Q/V spreads to the bank this morning. I was plenty happy to get rid of some of those long K/Ms. I had loaded my boat with a few more of then than usual.

Best wishes,

dhm