On Monday, lean hog futures exhibited gains ranging from 15 to 62 cents in the front months. The USDA’s national base hog price was not reported due to low trading volume, while the CME Lean Hog Index fell by 15 cents, settling at $90.51 as of April 16.
As of April 14, managed money reduced their net long positions in lean hog futures and options by 10,174 contracts, resulting in a total of 87,887 contracts. Additionally, the USDA reported a pork carcass cutout value increase of $1.86, bringing it to $101.06 per cwt, although butt and rib primals saw decreases. Last week’s federally inspected hog slaughter was estimated at 2.502 million head, exceeding the previous week by 30,000 head and last year’s figures by 134,777 head.
