Pork-belly prices that surged to record highs for six straight days may drop soon as demand peaks and consumers balk at higher meat costs, said Karl Skold, an economist and the former head of commodity procurement for ConAgra Foods Inc.
Pork bellies, which are used to make bacon, have jumped as much as 36 percent in August to a record $1.41 a pound, rising by the daily limit on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for eight straight sessions as U.S. inventories tumbled. Demand tends to peak in August, as tomatoes ripen and consumers eat bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches.
“If we get a little bit of a break in the cash market, the futures will stop going ‘limit up’ every day,” said Skold, the president of Westside Economics, an Omaha, Nebraska-based food consultant. “You’ll get a slowdown in demand seasonally, and you’ll also get a response from the consumer on the price side.”
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