This afternoon’s Cold Storage Report showed total beef and pork in frozen storage coming in below traders’ expectations. At 453.856 million lbs., total pork stocks as of July 31 were down eight percentage points from last month.
USDA reports total pork belly stocks at 29.534 million bu., coming in slightly above the average trade guess of 29.2 million.
However, total frozen beef stocks at 418.060 million lbs. reflect a three percentage point decline from last month at a time when traders expected stocks to build slightly. This reflects stronger-than-expected demand, which should be viewed as price supportive.
Meanwhile, total frozen poultry supplies rose two percentage points from last month and are up 10 percentage points from year-ago.
