Lean hog futures posted weaker Friday trade, with contracts down 30 to 45 cents in the nearbys. February was down $1.10 last week. Open interest was up 2,647 contracts on the day. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $83.57 on Friday afternoon, down 81 cents from the previous day. The CME Lean Hog Index was up another 50 cents on Jan 28 at $85.72.
CFTC data indicated managed money increasing their net long in lean hog futures and options by 16,388 contracts, taking it to 113,806 contracts as of Tuesday.
USDA’s pork carcass cutout value from the Friday afternoon report was 79 cents higher to $94.22 per cwt. The loin and rib were the only primals reported lower. USDA estimated federally inspected hog slaughter last week at 2.522 million head. That was 54,000 head above last week but 37,861 head below the same week last year.
Feb 26 Hogs closed at $87.250, down $0.450,
Apr 26 Hogs closed at $95.150, down $0.300
May 26 Hogs closed at $98.925, down $0.375,
