Hogs Eye Friday Market Moves

Lean Hog Futures Reach New Highs

On Thursday, lean hog futures ended the day with gains ranging from 50 to 75 cents, setting fresh contract highs. Open interest increased by 4,217 contracts during the session. The USDA reported the national base hog price at $83.09 in the afternoon, marking a decrease of $2.04 from the previous day. Meanwhile, the CME Lean Hog Index climbed by 37 cents on January 20, reaching $82.40.

According to the USDA's Thursday evening report, the pork carcass cutout value rose by 64 cents to $94.62 per hundredweight, with the rib primal being the only category to decline. The estimated number of federally inspected hogs slaughtered on Thursday was 490,000, bringing the weekly total to 1.886 million after a downward revision of 8,000 for Wednesday. This figure is 87,000 lower than last week but stands 82,281 above the same period a year ago.

Recent Hog Futures Closing Prices

• February 26 Hogs closed at $88.475, up $0.625
• April 26 Hogs finished at $96.350, up $0.750
• May 26 Hogs settled at $99.775, up $0.500