**Lean hog futures saw gains on Thursday, with prices increasing by 15 to 60 cents for the front months.** The CME Lean Hog Index rose by 54 cents to $91.05 as of April 21. However, the USDA reported a low in weekly pork export sales, totaling just 16,127 metric tons for the week ending April 16, while shipments reached a three-week high at 38,177 metric tons.
USDA’s pork carcass cutout value decreased by 44 cents to $98.11 per hundredweight. The estimated federally inspected hog slaughter for Thursday was 495,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 1.476 million head, which is 1,000 head lower than the previous week and 166,867 head higher than the same week last year.
