CHICAGO- U.S. lean hog futures tumbled on Thursday as American pork export sales to China continued to disappoint traders who have been expecting a surge of demand due to an outbreak of a fatal hog disease in China.
Live cattle and feeder cattle futures also declined.
Hog futures have pulled back 12% since reaching a five-year high last month on projections for China to ramp up pork imports as it struggles to contain cases of African swine fever.
China has reported more than 120 outbreaks of the deadly disease in all of its mainland provinces and regions, as well as Hainan Island and Hong Kong, since it was first detected in the country in early August 2018.
However, U.S. pork export sales to China have turned out weaker than expected so far, in part because China has large inventories of pork in cold storage, traders said.
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