On Friday, lean hog futures gained between 32 to 75 cents across front months, with October rising $3.825 this week. The USDA reported national base hog prices at $104.91, down $3.28 from the previous day, while the CME Lean Hog Index fell 20 cents to $106.43 on August 27. The market will be closed on Monday for Labor Day, reopening on Tuesday.
The Friday Commitment of Traders report revealed speculators added 8,274 contracts to their net long position in lean hog futures and options as of Tuesday, bringing the total to 114,042 contracts by August 26. Additionally, USDA estimated the weekly hog slaughter total at 2.391 million head, down 19,000 from last week and 36,648 from the same week last year.
USDA’s FOB plant pork cutout report showed a rise of $2.83 to $114.32 per cwt, with the butt being the only primal reported lower.
