August 2026, Week 3

This week's key points

• —US: Ham primal cutout falls for a fourth straight week, down 26% y/y
• —US: Pork carcass cutout 8% below the 5-year average
• —US: Hog price down 3.4% w/w as the seasonal fall increase in supply begins
• —US: Slaughter down 3.4% y/y, but the gap is narrowing
• —US: Average carcass weight up 1.6% y/y
• —EU: Pig prices (carcass-weight basis) rise for a fourth week from their July low — at a time of year when they usually soften

US: Ham primal cutout falls for a fourth straight week, down 26% y/y

Latest: The weekly average was 77.51 USD/cwt, down 5.0% w/w and down 26.0% y/y. The daily value of 74.39 USD/cwt on Aug 24 was the lowest since early April. Last 4 weeks: Down 25.0% from four weeks ago, against an average move of -16.7% over the same four weeks in the past five years. Relative level: Relative to the carcass cutout (vs. the five-year average for the same week), hams have fallen from a +7% premium five weeks ago to a -8% discount.