KANSAS CITY (Dow Jones)--Slaughter hog prices in the Midwest Wednesday are flat to lower, and most plants are reportedly done buying for this week.
Demand is expected to remain slow through the weekend and could be light on Monday as well since several plants will be taking a day off between now and then, said livestock dealers and market managers.
Two plants will be down Friday, and nine others will be dark Monday in observance of the Easter holiday Sunday. With the plant closures seen for Friday and Monday, the estimates for those daily figures are around 410,000 and 300,000 head, respectively. Projections for Saturday's slaughter are from 45,000 to 50,000 head.
Sales of pork domestically and in the export markets have not been active enough to encourage packers to chase after hog supplies and process more animals, analysts and livestock dealers said. Processing margins have been thin to negative throughout most of this year, so packers are trying to hold the line on costs.
A few plants may need another load or two for later in the week but the buyers expect to be able to purchase the hogs at flat to weaker prices. Selling interest, however, has turned extremely slow as well, and most producers are willing to wait until next week before offering additional loads for sale in hopes that prices will move higher by then.
Prices at the terminal markets were reported mostly steady with one location down $1 per hundredweight. Top prices are reported from $34 to $39 on a live basis.
-By Curt Thacker, Dow Jones Newswires; 913-322-5178; curt.thacker@dowjones.com
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