Lean hog futures experienced notable gains on Friday, with front-month contracts rising by 25 to 35 cents; however, December futures fell by 7 cents upon expiration. Notably, February futures increased by $2.25 this week. The USDA reported a national base hog price drop of 41 cents, now at $71.28, while the CME Lean Hog Index rose by 41 cents to $82.57.
According to the Commitment of Traders data, the net long position saw a reduction of 13,524 contracts, bringing the total to 57,988 contracts as of November 18. The USDA also noted a pork carcass cutout value decline of 63 cents to $98.21 per cwt, with a total federally inspected hog slaughter for the week estimating at 2.727 million head—up by 30,000 from last week and 166,503 from the same week last year.
