**Lean hog futures declined on Friday, falling 45 cents to average $1.55 across most front months. The USDA reported a national base hog price of $90.42, while the CME Lean Hog Index increased by 38 cents to reach $91.43. In terms of inventory, Cold Storage data revealed that pork stocks as of March 31 were 411.28 million lbs, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 0.44%.**
**In the latest Commitment of Traders report, managed money reduced its net long positions in lean hog futures by 22,296 contracts, bringing the total to 65,591 contracts as of April 21. Additionally, USDA estimated this week’s federally inspected slaughter at 2.469 million head, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week but 53,057 higher than the same week last year. USDA’s pork carcass cutout value rose to $99.61 per cwt, with rib and ham primals as the only segments reporting declines.**
