**Lean hog futures experienced losses of 7 to 70 cents on Thursday, with January contracts closing at $87.30, February contracts at $98.375, and May contracts at $101.50. The USDA reported a national base hog price of $86.58, down 24 cents from the previous day, while the CME Lean Hog Index increased by 23 cents to $86.06.**
**In the week ending January 29, pork export sales totaled 35,107 metric tons, marking a 37.3% decrease from the previous week and a 30.7% drop from the same week last year. Mexico was the largest buyer with 13,800 metric tons, followed by China with 5,200 metric tons. Export shipments for the same week reached 37,622 metric tons, a 4.7% increase compared to last year, with Mexico receiving 16,900 metric tons.**
**The USDA’s pork carcass cutout value rose by $2.27, reaching $95.27 per hundredweight, with the belly segment showing notable increases. Federally inspected hog slaughter was estimated at 450,000 head for Thursday, bringing the week’s total to 1.903 million head, which is 38,000 head more than the previous week but 26,824 head fewer than the same week last year.**
