Lean hog futures increased by 40 to 75 cents on Friday, with the USDA reporting the national base hog price at $88.96. This follows a rise in the CME Lean Hog Index, which was up 40 cents from the previous period, reaching $87.59 on February 18.
In the week ending February 12, USDA recorded pork sales at 27,255 metric tons, marking a five-week low, while export shipments totaled 35,653 metric tons, the lowest for the calendar year. Additionally, USDA reported a pork carcass cutout value of $95.89 per hundredweight, down by 39 cents, with only rib and belly primals showing increases. The estimated federally inspected hog slaughter for Thursday was 491,000 head, bringing this week’s total to 1.918 million, which is 4,000 head lower than last week and 5,161 head shy of the same week last year.
